If OWS Is Not For You, Check Out These Rides
By Daniel Edward Rosen September 17, 2012 12:04 pm
reprintsAs the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests is underway, Brookfield (BN) Properties, the landlords whose privately owned public space (or “POPS”) became Ground Zero for the movement’s ardent supporters, is hosting its own annual anniversary at one of its Lower Manhattan properties.
The Motorexpo, while not exactly a rally against the disproportionate distribution of wealth in America, will offer passersby the chance to check out the latest luxury models from automakers like Bentley and Land Rover.
Held inside and outside The World Financial Center, the 5-day event transforms business locations across the world into an automotive showroom. BMW will show off its latest models like the 2013 740i Sedan and the X5. Cadillac will showcase its brand new Cadillac ATS. Ford will show off its environmentally friend C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi cars, while Land Rover will puts it Range Rover Evoque, another “green” automobile, on display.
The World Financial Center has been hosting the Motorexpo since 2008. The timing of the car show was coincidental and was not meant to coincide with Occupy Wall Street’s one-year anniversary protests, a Brookfield spokeswoman said.
“The plan for this was months and months ahead of time,” said Patricia Bertuccio, manager of corporate communications for Brookfield Properties.
The Motorexpo at the World Financial Center started on Sunday and is set to run until September 21. The travelling auto show has unveiled its luxury wares at other Brookfield properties across the globe. In June, the Motorexpo set shop at the Canary Wharf in London and then at the Brookfield Place in Toronto. Brookfield has a minority stake in the Canary Wharf Group.
Brookfield Properties owns the privately owned public space Zuccoti Park, which became a camping site for protesters of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. Protesters were forcibly cleared from Zuccotti Park on November 15, 2011.
drosen@observer.com
