Report: Boston Economy May Have Lost $250 Million Plus from Lockdown
How much does it cost to shut down a city for an entire day? Bloomberg Business Week reports that price tag is somewhere in the range of $ 250 million to $ 333 million, citing a chief economist at IHS Global Insight. The citywide shelter-in-place order was lifted shortly after 6 p.m. Friday, about 10 hours after the police lockdown was extended to the entire city of Boston. As of 6:30 p.m., police continued to search for the remaining at-large suspect in Monday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon finish line, with heavy activity continuing in the greater Boston community of Watertown. The suspect was identified by authorities as 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev. While some businesses remained open during the lockdown, many didn’t open at all or closed early, sending employees home several hours after the shelter-in-place was issued, once government officials announced it was OK to leave for home. Dunkin’ Donuts shops in certain areas of the city remained open during the lockdown per direction from the city, the Huffington Post reported. Karen Raskopf, chief communications officer for Dunkin’ Brands, told the news site that the restaurants were asked to remain open “to take care of needs of law enforcement and first responders.” Business Week reports that the Boston metro area is a “$ 1-billion-a-day metropolitan area,” but that some of that economic activity could continue under a lockdown with the aid of telecommuting and technology. Other activities, such as grocery shopping, are simply shifted to another day. But even with some business in the city lost because of the lockdown, the economic expert said he did not expect the event to have a lasting effect on Boston’s economy. He pointed to New York City and Washington, D.C., both of which were able to recover relatively quickly following the attacks on 9/11. South End Patch
Boston City Councilor Waits for ‘Monster’ to be Caught During Lockdown
Gripped to media reports like the majority of Boston area residents is how Boston District 6 City Councilor Matt O’Malley is riding out the stay in shelter lockdown. “I’m sitting in my living room since 6:20 a.m. this morning watching television, waiting, hoping and praying there’s no more innocent victims,” said O’Malley, who texted his staff early to let them know to stay home. He said he also received a robocall from NotifyBoston letting him know about the stay in shelter order while law officials search for one of the two bombing suspects. He said he hasn’t received a briefing on the lockdown situation, and said he knows as much as anyone watching media reports. O’Malley also took to Twitter for a little tweet beef with a state rep from Arkansas on gun control. State Rep. Nate Bell, R-20, who tweeted last night: “I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine? #2A“ To which O’Malley (tweeted) and retorted today: “@NateBell4AR You are a moron.” But the district councilor representing West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and a part of Roslindale, said his focus has been on the safety of people. “Allston-Brighton was the first ‘shelter in place’ (area), then at the press conferene later in the morning it was the entire city of Boston,” said O’Malley. “So I checked in with friends and family making sure that everyone is safe.” O’Malley said he believes federal, state, city and town police will catch the suspect. “It’s obviously very tense. Like everyone we’re watching television, watching media reports and hope this monster can be caught and and brought to justice.” “Obviously, we’re all very concerned. We’re obviously worried and many of us know victims who are recovering. We know victims who were loss,” said O’Malley. “The three people who were killed, and the cop lost last night. Our city mourns, but we’re strong, we’re tough, we’re resolute – that’s why we’re the greatest city in the world.” South End Patch