(The following story by Robin Washington appeared on the Boston Herald website on April 2.)
BOSTON — It may be a party, but it’s not fair.
That’s the attitude of some Bay Staters when comparing the massive disruptions expected during July’s Democratic National Convention to the Republican confab in New York a month later.
“If it’s not a security problem in New York, why is it a security problem in Boston?” asked Russell Ayoub of Boston Beer Works on Canal Street, in the shadow of the FleetCenter.
That Boston edifice stands to be the hub of a transportation nightmare with the week-long closing of North Station and the intermittent shuttering of Interstate 93.
Yet Pennsylvania Station beneath Madison Square Garden will stay open, officials maintained yesterday, despite a New York Daily News story saying it would shut down during President Bush’s speech to the GOP faithful.
“We have absolutely no information on that,” said agent Ann Roman, a Secret Service spokeswoman. “As of right now, there are no plans to close Penn Station.”
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg echoed that, though he said, “a couple of side streets” could be blocked.
So far, that decision stands despite similarities between the two venues. Besides the FleetCenter, Madison Square Garden is the nation’s only other arena situated above a major rail terminal. If anything, its security risks far outweigh Boston’s, some said.
“It’s the biggest station in the country,” said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black, adding if directed, the railroad could bypass the station.
While North Station handles 99 commuter rail and Amtrak trains daily, Penn Station sees 1,000, Amtrak and MBTA officials said.
But there are differences, said Ed Flynn, the Bay State’s public safety secretary.
“Penn Station . . . is five stories underneath,” he told New England Cable News. “(The Secret Service is) concerned about explosive devices and five stories gives them far more buffer.”
While Boston braces for the prospect of finding alternative routes for 200,000 cars and 24,000 commuter rail passengers, Penn Station users said it would be near impossible to redirect its 500,000 daily passengers.
“There’s no way it could happen here. People would be going nuts,” said Gina Cassiani of Nick and Stef’s Steak House around the corner from Madison Square Garden.
Belying any hint of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, she expressed sympathy for Bostonians faced with a weeklong closure. “That’s really going to affect you guys a lot more than us,” she said.