Adds Gerstman: “This has nothing to do with protesting; it’s about an illegal occupation and encampment. They’re breaking the law by setting up tents, sleeping in the streets.”

It is this law-breaking — and city officials’ enabling of it — that the group finds so galling. It’s one thing to permit an extended protest, another to let the protesters take over a park and become a hazard to themselves and others…

“Mayor Bloomberg said that you don’t notice the protest when you’re a block away,” Gerstman said. “That was so frustrating. They’re marching, holding meetings, our community board put port-a-potties three blocks away from the park. They’re very noticeable. We felt abandoned and like we had to do something.”

The group is also ready to fight any return by the Occupy Wall Street crowd — including filing litigation against park owner Brookfield Properties and the city.