Well, actually, they're already here. And of course, they've brought with them the protesters. (If you're interested, Chris posted some pictures of Sunday's march). We decided to visit my parents (and the beach) on Sunday, so I missed out on all the festivities.
A lot of people are staying home this week, trying to avoid Midtown in general and Penn Station specifically. Fordham apparently even considered delaying the start of classes (although they did eventually decide against it).
In reality, I think these fears are just an excuse for people to stay home and have an extended (extended) holiday weekend. We passed through Penn Station on the way home on Sunday and it was completely empty. There were groups of police every 30 feets, with cops outnumbering passengers at least 3 to 1. Granted, this was on a Sunday night, but my father said it was the same scene there.
On a related note, my building deserves an award for “Most Ridiculous Security Measures”. First, the building management decided to require some special ID card for all residents. You had to go to the leasing office, show photo ID, and pick up this card. They also decided to staff a security guard in the lobby 24 hours a day. While this might not sound so ridiculous at first, you have to understand:
- We already have a doorman who, unlike the new security guard, actually knows who lives in the building
- My building is in Battery Park City and is one of the southern-most buildings in Manhattan - nowhere near the stuff going on in Midtown.
- The security guards don't actually do anything (like, say, checking those ID cards we had to pick up), nor are they armed.
When I came home on Saturday, we actually had 2 doormen, 2 porters, and a security guard sitting there.
Sigh.