August 29, 2004 in Nation/World

New York braces for convention

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NEW YORK – With streets blocked off and police blimps flying overhead, rifle-toting National Guardsmen striding through Grand Central Terminal and radiation detectors in place, this city all but bristles with security and anti-terrorist armament.

Police have doubled the number of undercover officers riding the buses and subways, and video cameras provide 24-hour feeds from bridges and tunnels. The federal government has cleared a seven-mile-radius airspace “frozen zone” over Madison Square Garden – site of the Republican National Convention – and a high-tech, 2,000-square-foot nerve center at police headquarters will hold representatives from 66 federal, state and city law enforcement agencies.

For months, federal officials have warned of the threat of an attempted terrorist strike before the Nov. 2 presidential election, with New York City and the Republican National Convention presenting prime targets. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge insists none of this should rattle New Yorkers.

“Any attempts of a terrorist will be frustrated and repelled by multiple layers of security that they will encounter all around the city, and for that matter all around the region,” Ridge said last week.

New York may have never been so well guarded. But some New Yorkers find the buildup to the GOP convention unsettling. In interviews, several dozen spoke of the disruptions caused by the phalanxes of police and National Guard troops, by protesters bent on civil disobedience, and by the roving security details assigned to Republican VIPs. Many residents, particularly immigrants, worry that they will spend a week as suspects in their city.

“People are afraid now,” said Mohammad Razvi, an auxiliary police officer and executive director of a respected community group that serves Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants. “Whenever these terror warnings go up, they are like: ‘Oh, no, are they going to pick on us again?’ ”

About half of those interviewed in recent weeks spoke of nagging fears of terrorist attacks. Some Manhattan families have decided to leave this week; others without the resources to get away say they will avoid Lower Manhattan.

Assistant Corporation Counsel Gail Donoghue argued the city’s case in court when civil libertarians challenged the Police Department’s authority to conduct random searches of demonstrators’ bags. But she tends to cast a jaundiced eye on official assurances of personal safety.

“If someone’s willing to die, they can always pull off an attack,” she said. “I have to be here, unfortunately. But I’m definitely riding my bike that week. I view the subway as an unnecessary risk.”

All this security comes at a high cost. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has acknowledged that the city will spend $65 million on security, about double his original estimate. And the city comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., has estimated that disruptions to business and traffic and transit delays could push the total city tab to more than $300 million.

City officials have talked of security as a straightforward matter, suggesting that all New Yorkers should endorse the show of force during uncertain times. Bloomberg – who has faced criticism for lobbying so hard to bring the convention to New York – insisted that any disruption would be minor.

“The measures are going to strike the right balance between providing security without inconveniencing New Yorkers,” he said. “New York City is being well protected on land, at sea and in the air.”

Antiwar activists contend that such extensive security precautions carry a downside, perhaps scaring off protesters.

“We see a lot of misinformation that’s building up the hysteria,” said Jamie Moran, a member of RNC Not Welcome, a collective that includes anarchists.

“The police and some in the news media are attaching terrorist labels to us … making it look as if the anarchists are an organized crime syndicate.”

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