We Shall Overcome High Prices
It's a great time to be a protester! Mayor Michael Bloomberg is welcoming "peaceful political activists" to New York City with a barrel o' discounts, including reduced rates at hotels, museums and attractions. Peaceful activists will also receive discounts at restaurants, shows and shopping. All you have to do is pick up a Peaceful Protester welcome button at the Visitor Information Center, or should that task prove to be too onerous, print your own Peaceful Political Activists Savings Card. The card and button feature the Statue of Liberty holding a placard that reads Peaceful Political Activists, because even Lady Liberty needs to run a little crazy sometimes.
Cynics imply this represents a recognition on the part of the Bloomberg administration that demonstrators may outnumber delegates and other Convention visitors. I would not be so crass as to echo their claims.
Protesters will not be allowed to be peacefully politically active anywhere they like, however. A rally planned for Central Park has been nixed by the city, with the explanation that the gathering would damage the grass. This, despite the fact that the Park regularly hosts performances which draw large crowds, such as the estimated 750,000 that gathered for a Paul Simon concert. Perhaps the concern is that the Statue of Liberty will attend. Instead, the city wants protesters to rally along the West Side Highway. Granted, that would render many of those gathered incapable of hearing the actual political speeches. But think of the shopping!
*****
Should peaceful political activists choose to visit the Statue, they will be confronted with the latest tool used to fight terrorism: biometrics. In order to rent a locker, instead of dropping a coin and getting a key, visitors now must use an electronic reader than scans their fingerprints. Increased security at the Statue requires visitors to check most packages, so the system is getting a workout. Since there are only three scanners for nearly 200 lockers, the wait is substantial. Problems include people forgetting their locker number or forgetting which finger they used to activate the scan.
Still, Brad Hill, whose family has run Liberty Island's concessions since the 30s, thinks biometrics is a wise choice. The biggest problem with the key-operated lockers was visitors losing the key, a problem expected to be exacerbated by the fact that guests now have to empty their pockets as they pass through metal detectors. As Hill notes, people don't lose their fingers, though with this crowd I'm not so sure. He also expects visitors will find the lockers easier to use once they get used to them. This argument would carry more weight in an office building then at a tourist attraction where guests, almost by definition, have never visited.
On the other hand, chances increase every day that visitors may have some experience with biometrics readers. As it turns out, such systems are now in place in Chicago's Union Station, the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, and the Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure theme parks in Florida.
Cynics imply this represents a recognition on the part of the Bloomberg administration that demonstrators may outnumber delegates and other Convention visitors. I would not be so crass as to echo their claims.
Protesters will not be allowed to be peacefully politically active anywhere they like, however. A rally planned for Central Park has been nixed by the city, with the explanation that the gathering would damage the grass. This, despite the fact that the Park regularly hosts performances which draw large crowds, such as the estimated 750,000 that gathered for a Paul Simon concert. Perhaps the concern is that the Statue of Liberty will attend. Instead, the city wants protesters to rally along the West Side Highway. Granted, that would render many of those gathered incapable of hearing the actual political speeches. But think of the shopping!
*****
Should peaceful political activists choose to visit the Statue, they will be confronted with the latest tool used to fight terrorism: biometrics. In order to rent a locker, instead of dropping a coin and getting a key, visitors now must use an electronic reader than scans their fingerprints. Increased security at the Statue requires visitors to check most packages, so the system is getting a workout. Since there are only three scanners for nearly 200 lockers, the wait is substantial. Problems include people forgetting their locker number or forgetting which finger they used to activate the scan.
Still, Brad Hill, whose family has run Liberty Island's concessions since the 30s, thinks biometrics is a wise choice. The biggest problem with the key-operated lockers was visitors losing the key, a problem expected to be exacerbated by the fact that guests now have to empty their pockets as they pass through metal detectors. As Hill notes, people don't lose their fingers, though with this crowd I'm not so sure. He also expects visitors will find the lockers easier to use once they get used to them. This argument would carry more weight in an office building then at a tourist attraction where guests, almost by definition, have never visited.
On the other hand, chances increase every day that visitors may have some experience with biometrics readers. As it turns out, such systems are now in place in Chicago's Union Station, the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, and the Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure theme parks in Florida.
posted by John Bliss at
11:21 AM
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