Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended the New York Police Department's monitoring of the Web sites of Muslim student groups at more than a dozen universities across the Northeast, framing the effort as one way to guard against the threat of terrorism.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended his decision to clear the park in Lower Manhattan that was the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, saying "health and safety conditions became intolerable" in the park where the protesters had camped out for nearly two months.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended the New York Police Department's monitoring of the Web sites of Muslim student groups at more than a dozen universities across the Northeast, framing the effort as one way to guard against the threat of terrorism.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended his decision to clear the park in Lower Manhattan that was the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, saying "health and safety conditions became intolerable" in the park where the protesters had camped out for nearly two months.