On Tuesday, around a thousand union hotel workers protested the imminent closing of the famed Plaza Hotel. Thankfully they weren’t around last Friday, when I was scheduled to meet the vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney, in a private press conference with The New York Sun.

Although I am a native Manhattanite, I can count on one hand the number of my previous visits to the Plaza – and all of those were either to Trader Vic’s or to the ladies room. This time I was actually going to ascend to the upper floors and judge for myself whether this structure was worth the melodrama of its proposed renovation and conversion to condominium apartments.

Meeting the vice president entailed security measures that somewhat overshadowed my planned appraisal. We were scanned electronically, and my purse was thoroughly hand-searched. Our photographer had to assure the security team that his camera was indeed a camera. Then we stood aside while a very aggressive bomb-sniffing dog inspected our bags. I warned his handler that the sneakers in my tote bag might make him keel over. He didn’t smile. Indeed, none of the agents relaxed until we had all passed the intense scrutiny and were allowed to proceed through the thick black curtains that cordoned off the corridor to the suite.

I took the opportunity to visit the rest of the suite to check out its decor. Everything was exquisite, and unlike any hotel I’ve ever stayed in. This finely appointed suite appeared to be furnished with genuine antiques, and the white robes hanging behind the bathroom door were plush and tempting. Marble, marble everywhere, carved moldings, and decorated ceilings all over the place, Very, very nice.

Ten minutes later, another escort group came in, followed by a smiling Mr. Cheney, who shook each of our hands and sat down across from all of us, his hands clasped on the table. We had decided to divide our questions into foreign and domestic issues, and since mine involved school vouchers, I waited until that area was explored.

Mr. Cheney has a very attractive half-smile, which he puts on when he’s going to sidestep a touchy subject. “Nice try,” he’ll say in place of a direct answer.

As the moment to ask my question approached, I couldn’t help but marvel at the notion that a woman who grew up at Spanish Harlem in a vermin-infested tenement would soon be asking the second most powerful man in the world a policy question. That wonderment soon turned to panic: I nearly forgot what I was going to say. “Hail Mary, …” I began, and managed to get my question and comment out without stammering.

I reminded the vice president that Hispanics are not a monolithic society. We come from many different countries. Puerto Ricans are citizens, not immigrants, and many of us were born here. Politicians may believe that our greatest concern is immigration, but the truth is that, like all Americans, we are concerned with education, and a great many of us favor school vouchers or tax credits.

The vice president said he and Mrs. Cheney were very involved in a foundation that provided scholarships to needy students, and he said he supports school vouchers but there’s a lot of opposition to them.

An aide to Mr. Cheney then alerted us that our time was nearly up, and after sharing a few more pleasantries the vice president left the room. I looked down at my notepad, and all I had written during the 45-minute session were these few phrases: “exudes power,” “very much an authority figure,” “he is just so coooool!”

Now that my business was done, I went back to the lobby. The Palm Court was packed, the beautiful Oak Room was doing a brisk business, and the front desk was busy checking in guests.

The new owners of the Plaza plan to convert this absolutely beautiful hotel into condominium apartments and a 150-room hotel. The Hotel, Motel and Club Employees Union charges that the jobs of all the city’s hotel workers are in jeopardy.

A bill has been introduced at the City Council to stop these conversions, though it will probably never pass muster because the last time I checked this is America, where owners are still allowed to do what they want to their own property.

Besides, new hotels are springing up all over town. Commercial buildings are being converted into hotels. Precious buildings like the Plaza are old, and the cost of repairing them is prohibitive.

Moreover, even after the conversion, it will still be a hotel, and those feeling nostalgia for Kay Thompson’s 6-year-old who roamed the halls of the Plaza need a wake-up call.

Eloise is now in her 50s and probably living in Paris.