Police in riot gear have corralled members of the Occupy Wall Street and begun systematically throwing away the property of Occupy members and destroying tents while trying to clear the park under the order of the city's mayor.

Occupy Wall Street, the leaderless protest movement arguing against economic inequality and corporate personhood, has been camped out in Zuccotti Park since September and have inspired thousands of similar protests in cities and countries around the world.

The New York Times said as the police gathered between the nearby Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, and moved into the park shortly after 1am EST. A police officer gave an announcement, saying: "The city has determined that the continued occupation of Zuccotti Park poses an increasing health and fire safety hazard".

"All the media has been pushed out of the park," said the Occupy member who was livestreaming the raid in progress.

It was reported that the police have forced members of the media, including a CNN helicopter which was streaming the eviction live, to leave the park area.

Occupy Wall Street's chief slogan "We are the 99%" refers to the growing difference in wealth and income growth in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population.

"My name is Ashley, and I'm an American citizen," said a protester on the livestream. "Right now they're threatening to use violence to get these innocent protesters off this camp."

Over 21,000 people, with thousands more joining every few minutes, are watching live on the Occupy Wall Street website.

Watch live streaming video from occupynyc at livestream.com