Occupy Buffalo builds protective dome

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Occupy Buffalo wants people to know, the weather won't stop them from their mission.

Protestors put up a little protection from the elements.

You may already have driven through Niagara Square and thought to yourself, "What the heck is that big dome thing?"

It's a geodesic dome, to be precise. And it's essentially a little warming house for the Occupy Buffalo protesters .

It's a dome and it has three main components.

At the base is a wooden platform, that sort of serves as a foundation.

Galvanized metal piping is bolted down to the wood, and built up in a pattern of triangles - that's where the term "geodesic" comes from.

A thick nylon shell finishes it off - like the stuff party tents are made out of, only stronger.
Even without a heater, it should help keep the Occupiers warm and dry.

Ordinarily, a dome like this would cost thousands of dollars. But it was given to the Occupiers by an anonymous donor.

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Albert Brown of Occupy Buffalo said, "This is somebody who felt strongly about the movement, and wanted to make sure that people stay warm, who're intending to stay here over the winter."

"You go through protests together, and you have some harrowing moments, you start to build some solidarity and some real closeness. And I think this is just another example of that," added Brown.

The dome is a pretty hard-to-miss reminder that the Occupiers are in this for the long haul.

Not an idea that the city is really warming up to.

Mayor Byron Brown said, "If we do get a storm it would make sense for them to relocate. Where they are positioned in Niagara Square, for snowplowing purposes, we would not be able to easily put the snow that would be plowed into that area."

The relationship between the Occupiers and the city is not at all antagonistic.

Both have said as recently as this week they're working together on places for the Occupiers to relocate, if the snow really starts to fly.

It's a far cry from Washington D.C, where about a dozen Occupiers were arrested Sunday as they tried to build a more permanent structure.