Not Your Conventional Security

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

Here’s a recipe for the next 10 days: Take terrorists who want to destroy our city and kill as many people as possible. Add 8 million New Yorkers, a quarter of a million protesters, 40,000 cops, 35,000 Republicans, and 15,000 members of the press. Screw the lid on tight and shake well.


At a time when our city faces unprecedented security challenges, we’ve responded by putting unprecedented security procedures in place. Obviously, many of these must remain secret or they will lose their effectiveness. But it may calm a few frayed nerves to get a little more information and know that during the convention we just might be the best prepared any city has ever been to meet 21st-century security threats.


Let’s start in the air and work our way down. While a hijacking or other aerial assault is more difficult because of the security procedures put in place after September 11, 2001, we’re not taking any chances. New York City is going to be under constant air cover during the duration of the convention. Drills have already been conducted combing the skills and equipment of the Northern Command, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, and the NYPD. Fighter jets will be ready in the air during the event, able to respond to any intrusion within moments, as opposed to being on standby at the nearest responding Air Force base, which is in Massachusetts.


A trip down to Battery Park to view the recently re-opened Statue of Liberty will tell you that our harbor defenses are already of a different magnitude – Coast Guard speedboats now buzz around equipped with machine gun turrets. Helicopters patrol the waterways as armed guards patrol the docks and walkways. During the convention, these precautions will be taken to another level, with traffic on the Hudson River restricted to a crawl and possibly shut down during the president’s speech. Container ships will presumably be given more than a radiological once-over.


The streets of New York will be different for drivers and pedestrians alike. A four-block zone around Madison Square Garden will be shut to traffic. Sally-ports will be put in place at the perimeter – these are barriers that go into the pavement, creating a virtual air-lock zone between them where credentialed cars are admitted, thoroughly searched, and then sent through the second barrier. Guards will be stationed behind bulletproof glass.


Today, a judge is scheduled to decide whether the protesters will be successful in their attempt to congregate legally in Central Park. Average New Yorkers will be significantly more headache-free in all senses if they can avoid the protest area – whether it’s the West Side Highway or Central Park.


Down in SoHo, for example, window-shopping is likely to be unaffected, and possibly even more than seasonally enjoyable because of reduced crowds. If your travels take you to the convention area, however, be prepared for a block-long perimeter around the Garden, which will provide absolutely no access without full credentials. Long lines, security personnel armed with machine guns and M-16s, and guard dogs will be present. Good rule of thumb: If you don’t have a reason to be there, don’t go.


Inside Madison Square Garden, the Secret Service will be running the show, with everyone else playing dedicated support roles. One detail worth keeping in mind: The FDNY Hazardous-Materials unit will be stationed inside, ready to launch into technical decontamination if a suspected chemical or biological attack is hatched.


The subways running beneath Madison Square Garden are a particular concern. The underground transit system that has made our city such a functional success over the past 100 years is one of the Achilles’s heels that now exposes us to 21st-century security threats. The presence of Penn Station beneath the Garden only adds to the complications. Thankfully, cooperation between the MTA, Long Island Rail Road, and New Jersey Transit has been reportedly seamless in the effort to meet this challenge. Radiological sensors have been put in place, and aggressive air sampling for biological or chemical attacks will be conducted at all hours, to the point of saturation. In addition, during key times of the convention, it will be possible to stop or slow down each train for inspection at the station prior to 34th Street, before it passes under the convention hall.


In the months and years leading up to this convention, an unprecedented degree of preparation has been made to protect the president, the delegates, and all New Yorkers. The threats we face are real, but few potential targets are as well defended as New York during this time. Terrorists are evil and ruthless, but they are curiously risk-averse. The element of surprise needed to massacre innocents does not exist in New York now. So let’s meet the challenge of the next 10 days with clear eyes and a defiant step. Don’t take anything for granted, but try to appreciate the spectacle of life in our city. As you hope for the best, know that we have prepared for the worst.

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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