The Albany-based protest of the Occupy movement ended in a somewhat bizarre spectacle of demonstrators lifting up the final yellow information tent and marching it to the steps of City Hall.

So far, one arrest has been reported this afternoon.

But it was a very different ending for Occupy Albany, a protest that the Cuomo administration reportedly wanted to quash before it even got started, than the removal of the much larger Zuccotti Park encampment at Occupy Wall Street.

Instead of a military-style clear-out in the middle of the night, Department of General Services workers and city policy notified protesters at around 2 p.m. that a court order had given them the authority to clear out. occupy1

Workers methodically took down tents and other structures while a collection of protesters yelled angirly. As the afternoon wore on, protesters formed a human chain around their information tent and said through various iterations of the human microphone that they were prepared to be arrested by police.

After law enforcement informed them that arrests would be made “peacefully” unless they moved, the demonstrators lifted up a tent and carried it to the steps of City Hall. It was later marched up State Street and then, according to tweets from the protesters, taken up several blocks to Albany’s Lark Street — considered the city’s artist and hipster hangout.

And that was more or less the end of a real thorn in the side for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was derided by the protesters as “Governor One Percent” and quickly drew their ire after the state set a curfew for the adjacent Lafayette Park.

Since the beginning of the year, the Demcoratic governor said he opposed keeping a surcharge on those making $200,000 and more — known as the millionaires tax by its supporters. He was able to get Democrats and a few Republicans in the Legislature to go along with his budget that closed a $10 billion deficit without raising taxes.

In October, however, the Occupy movement started, protesting income inequality and Wall Street excesses. Smaller protests in cities sprang up around the country, with police and local officials taking different tactics in dealing with the demonstrators.

In Albany, District Attorney David Soares refused to prosecute the protesters who crossed over into the state-controlled portion of the park to purposely violate the 11 p.m. Cuomo said repeatedly that the state was going to continue to enforce the law, but gave no indication as to whether he would seek a special prosecutor to supplant Soares.

It was an awkward moment for Cuomo. The protest was right across the street from the Capitol and he was essentially stymied by a local official.

And it was a politically awkward moment for Mayor Jerry Jennings, a staunch and longtime Cuomo ally who at one point was on the short list as a potential running mate.

On taxes, meanwhile, Cuomo was able to strike a deal. A reshuffling of the tax code enabled the state to collect more money from millionaires instead of just allowing the surcharge to expire, a political rabbit out of the hat for the governor.

But the Occupy movement ground on into this month and after a number of assaults, the city decided it was time to change their stance.

If anything, the movement shows that the progressive movement is still leary of Cuomo, who has gone at length to demonstrate how he is governoring in a post-partisan way. It’s unclear what Occupy Albany’s next move will be: Will they defy the city’s order and continue to protest with tents and structures? They may shift their focus to next year’s budget, which is already half complete, thanks to the code deal.

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