Tight security arrangements, many of which could affect truckers, are going into place in and around New York City in preparation for the Republican National Convention, which starts Monday, Aug. 30.
The efforts will involve coordination of federal, state and local law-enforcement personnel, as well as the nearby states of Connecticut and New Jersey, New York Gov. George Pataki said at a press conference recently.
Those security measures, according to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will include installation of “car-stopping delta barriers” and “high-tech vehicle-scanning equipment” near the convention site, Madison Square Garden.
In addition, “We will have 24-7 surveillance of key convention facilities, as well as portable X-ray equipment to examine packages, commercial vehicles and delivery trucks entering these areas,” Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told reporters.
The convention is scheduled for Aug. 30-Sept. 2 in Madison Square Garden. Most sessions will run from 8 to 11 p.m. EDT, but on Monday, Aug. 30, there will also be a session from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT. Other areas of the city, such as the Jacob Javits Center, will have convention-related activities.
Similar to the Democratic Convention recently in Boston, security at the GOP event and the area around it will be tight. For example, anyone entering the area around the convention center – from Seventh Avenue to Ninth Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets – will be asked to provide identification and their destination within the area near the convention.
All trucks and vans that enter the area will be subject to inspection at spots around the neighborhood, and some streets will be off-limits for trucks and vans. New York officials recommend that truckers carry some type of ID from their carriers, if available.
Truck drivers entering the area must posses a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration and a delivery manifest or invoice. Parking in the convention zone will be prohibited except during designated delivery times.
In addition to the spot inspections, vehicle checkpoints with active vehicle barriers will be established at:
- West 31st, 32nd and 33rd Streets on the west side of Sixth Avenue;
- West 31st and 33rd Streets on the east side of Ninth Avenue;
- Seventh Avenue at West 34th Street and West 30th Street; and
- Eighth Avenue at West 34th Street and West 30th Street.
In addition, a number of streets will be closed:
- West 31st to West 33rd Streets from 6th to 9th Avenues will be closed to vehicle traffic.
- West 32nd between Sixth and Seventh avenues will be closed to vehicle traffic. It will become a Pedestrian Mall, providing access to Penn Station up through Penn Station’s Seventh Avenue entrance under the Madison Square Garden marquee.
- Seventh Avenue will be closed from 42nd to 29th streets during the 13 hours when the convention is in session. At other times, at least one lane will be open in the Madison Square Garden area, and all lanes will be open elsewhere.
- Eighth Avenue will be closed during the convention hours from 23rd to 34th streets. Also, because 31st Street at Eighth Avenue will be a designated protest area, additional lane or avenue closures are likely south of that point at other times during the week.
The New York Police Department, on its Web site, also lists a number of other truck restrictions:
- All trucks making deliveries in between West 29th Street and West 35th Street and between Sixth Avenue and Ninth Avenue will have to be travel into the area during off-hours;
- On Monday, Aug. 30, all vehicles will be required to leave the area by 4 a.m.; and
- From Tuesday, Aug. 31, through Thursday, Sept. 2, delivery trucks may enter the convention zone only between 2 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The protest area along Eighth Avenue is expected to draw large numbers of demonstrators. New York officials said in a release that the protest zone would be extended down the street as far as necessary, depending upon the size of the crowd. And that could create additional traffic tie-ups.
However, everything is not doom and gloom. In a release, city officials point out that New York City gets 100,000 visitors a day. Also, in August 150,000 fewer people than usual make the daily commute into the city. About 50,000 delegates, officials, media representatives and guests are expected to take part in the event.
Officials describe many of the security precautions as similar to those used on New Year’s Eve on Times Square.
The tightened security was expected.
Earlier this year, officials at the Transportation Security Administration asked OOIDA to alert truckers to be extra watchful for possible terrorist activity during the next few months. Several administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Attorney General John Ashcroft, warned that terrorists might attack sometime before the November election in an attempt to disrupt the democratic process. Some reports pointed to the Democratic and Republican conventions, or the election itself, as possible targets.
In addition, federal officials established a “Code Orange” terrorist alert, a step higher than the rest of the country, in early August for the region around New York City.
“We do have new and unusually specific information about where al-Qaida would like to attack,” Ridge said during an early August press conference announcing the heightened level of alert. “Reports indicate that al-Qaida is targeting several specific buildings, including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in the District of Columbia; Prudential Financial in Northern New Jersey; and Citigroup buildings and the New York Stock Exchange in New York.”
Later, it was revealed that some of the information cited by Homeland Security officials this month predated the Sept. 11 attacks.
A series of security measures were put into place at the start of the Code Orange, including several that apply to trucks.
That’s because the information the warning was based on indicated that either truck bombs or car bombs might be used to attack the facilities included under the alert. In fact, Ridge said the intelligence suggested bombs in vehicles were “the preferred method of attack.”
“You may expect to see special buffer zones to secure the perimeter of the buildings from unauthorized cars and trucks; restrictions to affected underground parking; security personnel using identification badges and digital photos to keep track of people entering and exiting buildings; increased law enforcement presence, and even robust screening of vehicles, and packages, and deliveries,” Ridge said.
For more information about the Republican National Convention, truckers and others can call (212) 239-4381, (212) 239-2344, (212) 239-9846 or 3-1-1 within New York. Additional information is available at www.nyc2004.org.
– by Mark H. Reddig, associate editor
