The Connections Between the Occupy Wall Street Protest, Brookfield Properties' Zucotti Park and Vice President Joe Biden

The Connections Between the Occupy Wall Street Protest, Brookfield Properties' Zucotti Park and Vice President Joe Biden - Truth! & Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor:
This is a forwarded email that says that Brookfield Properties owns Zucotti Park, the location where protestors have been camped out in their "Occupy Wall Street" protest in New York City. This rumor also alleges a connection between Brookfield Properties and Vice President Joe Biden saying that his son was recently hired as a lawyer for Brookfield. It also alleges that Brookfield recently was granted stimulus funds, that New York Mayor Bloomfield's girlfriend sits on the board of the company and that George Soros owns an electronic voting tabulation service in Wisconsin.

The Truth:
A spokesperson for Brookfield Properties confirmed for TruthorFiction.Com that the company does own Zucotti Park but would not comment on any of the other allegations. Since September 17, 2011 Zucotti Park has been the site of the Occupy Wall Street protest camp.

Regarding the alleged Biden connection, Vice President Joe Biden has 2 sons who are lawyers, Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III and Robert Hunter Biden. Currently, we have not found any evidence that either son has been recently retained by Brookfield Properties.

Beau Biden is currently serving as the Attorney General for the state of Delaware. Hunter Biden is a partner at the New York based law firm of Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC, where he sits on the board as Chairman. Prior to that he was a founding partner of Oldaker, Biden & Belair, LLP, which represented Brookfield in 2002 and 2003.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's unnamed girlfriend in the eRumor is said to be Diana L. Taylor, a managing director at Wolfensohn & Company and currently sits on the board of Brookfield Properties. A September 30, 2010 article in the New York Times reporting on her criticism of President Obama noted her relationship with Mayor Bloomberg.

One of the energy companies under the corporate umbrella of Brookfield Properties did receive government funds. On September 23, 2011 the Department of Energy "finalized a partial guarantee for $168.9 million loan to Granite Reliable Power, LLC," to develop Windpark, a 99 megawatt wind generation project in New Hampshire to harness clean energy. Click for Department of Energy release.

We are still researching the "unrelated" connection with George Soros and electronic voting tabulation services but there may be another possible tie between Soros and the funding of the Occupy Wall Street protest.

According to an October 21, 2011 article in Human Events, the Alliance for Global Justice, the organization that is managing donations for the Occupy Wall Street protest movement, has received "grants from George Soros’ philanthropy, the Open Society Institute ($100,000 since 2004), and from the left-wing, money launderers of the Tides Foundation ($60,000 since 2004) that allows high-profile donors to give secretly to radical causes."

updated 11/11/11

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Do you know the park in NYC that the Wall Street protesters are occupying?

Zucotti Park.

DId you know this park is not owned by the city?

It is owned by Brookfield Properties.

Who was just hired by Brookfield Properties as an attorney?

Vice President Joe Biden's son.

Who sits on the board of Brookfield Properties?

Mayor Bloomberg's live-in girlfriend.

Now, guess what company just recieved some of the last of the Obama Stimulus $$$$$$$.

Thaaaaaaaaaaaaat's right, Brookfield Properties.

Isn't life great!

Hey, on a completely unrelated note, Wisconsin is shaping up to be the swing state in the 2012 presidential elections. Not Florida. Not Ohio. But Wisconsin. Now, guess who owns the company that will be tabulating the electronic votes in Wisconsin.

Thaaaaaaaaaaaat's right, the biggest contributor to Obama, George Soros. Whaaaaaaaat a coincidence!