Pat Dollard

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New York (AP) – New York City police plan to evict the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters — if only temporarily.

The protesters, who have camped out in a city park for more than three weeks, will be forced out Friday so that city crews can help clean the area.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited Zucotti Park in lower Manhattan on Wednesday evening and made the cleaning announcement, citing sanitation concerns from the park’s owner, MyFoxNY.com reports.

Brookfield Properties, the owner of the park, had outlined its concerns in a letter to the city’s police commissioner, Ray Kelly.

The company told police that it had received “hundreds of phone calls and emails” from locals complaining about “lewdness, groping, drinking and drug use, the lack of safe access to and usage of the Park, ongoing noise at all hours, unsanitary conditions and offensive odors,” NBC New York reports.

Brookfield also raised concerns about shipments of “materials” to the park, which they say are unscreened.

The park will be cleaned in stages, beginning Friday morning. Protesters will be allowed to return to their designated areas after cleaning is complete, NBC New York reports.

Brookfield normally cleans and inspects the condition of the park every night, including a power washing, landscaping and trash removal. But the company hasn’t been able to do so since the protestors have sent up a tent city there as part of their demonstrations.

“Basic rules intended to keep the park safe, open, clean, and welcoming to all visitors are clearly posted,” the statement from Brookfield reads. “These rules includes bans on the erection of tents or other structures, as well as the placement of tarps, sleeping bags, or other coverings on the property.

“Unfortunately, many of the individuals currently occupying the grounds are ignoring these basic yet necessary requirements, which interferes with the use of the park by others.”

“#BrookfieldProps says they can’t clean #LibertyPlaza. We’ll share our brooms if they want 2 help,” said one posting on the twitter feed @OccupyWallSt NYC.

Brookfield says that they recognize people’s right to peacefully assemble but that they are also obligated to ensure that the park remains safe, clean and accessible to everyone.

“We continue to work with the City of New York to address these conditions and restore the park to its intended purpose,” the statement continued.

In addition to the growing mess at the park, The NYPD has spent over $2 million in overtime to keep cops stationed at the protests, according to a public statement by Commissioner Ray Kelly made last week.

On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters marched through upper Manhattan in a so-called “Millionaire’s March,” passing by homes of some of the city’s wealthiest, including News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. News Corp. owns Fox News.

The uptown march marked the first time the Occupy Wall Street movement has identified specific people as being part of the 1 percent the demonstrators say are getting rich at the expense of the rest of America.

The Occupy Wall Street protests in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park have spread to other cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles, and have become a political issue, with Republicans accusing the demonstrators of waging “class war” and President Barack Obama saying he understands their frustrations.

In Washington, six people were arrested Tuesday for demonstrating inside a Senate office building. More than 125 protesters in Boston were arrested overnight after they ignored warnings to move from a downtown green space, police said. A conservation group had recently planted $150,000 worth of shrubs, and officials said they were worried about damage.