For Businesses, Much Ado About NATO

Workers put up a Nato summit sign outside the entrance of the Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Avenue. (Michael Lutzky — The Washington Post) Related Links Summit Q& A More Answers to Your Questions A Boom for Local Tourism Street and Office Closings Map

By Peter Slevin and Eric Lipton
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 20, 1999; Page B1

Business in the nation's capital will be anything but usual this week as the diplomats of NATO seize downtown Washington. Schoolchildren and government workers by the tens of thousands get to stay home on Friday.

Other mortals must decide just how badly they need to be out and about.

Army Maj. Gen. Joseph G. Garrett III, vice director of the NATO alliance's 50th anniversary meeting, put his own view succinctly: "If you don't have pressing business in the District, stay away."

The Friday schedule for 19 leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization became more crowded yesterday as organizers canceled an outdoor ceremony and added a lengthy morning meeting to discuss the Kosovo crisis. That means 20 motorcades racing through the city's central streets during the morning commute.

Downtown business managers are finding their resourcefulness – and patience – tested as they try to anticipate shifts forced by security cordons and traffic detours. The Friday through Sunday summit will involve at least 42 foreign delegations, making it Washington's largest gathering ever of presidents and prime ministers.

"It is giving downtown businesses a real headache," said Mary Anne Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the Greater Washington Board of Trade. "Some are granting holidays, other are giving employees the option of working at home, others are trying to figure out a way to get customers through a back door."

Take, for example, the National Press Club, located at 14th and F streets NW, near the summit's ground zero. The club is hosting a wedding rehearsal dinner for 150 people on Friday night, a reception for 150 guests of a second wedding on Saturday and a Democratic Leadership Council dinner for 300 people on Sunday.

"Talk about a nightmare," said Press Club marketing director Cara Lanza, who explained that most deliveries must be made before 8 a.m. Thursday. "We envision a bride having to walk from K Street in our worst-case scenario. But a band can't walk from K Street with its equipment. Or flowers."

How are the bridal families reacting to NATO's invasion?

"They are just in a panic," said Lanza. "We put everything on hold and said let's talk Tuesday or Wednesday because things keep changing. Our biggest fear is that it will take a huge turn as we get closer to the date and [summit planners] say, 'Okay, everything's closed.' "

Much of the scheduling for meetings, dinners, parties, street closings and employee leave during the summit is now final, organizers said yesterday. While minor adjustments are expected, Garrett said, "I don't see any major changes."

District officials announced yesterday that most D.C. government offices will be closed Friday, with workers getting a paid day off. That means residents will not be able to get driver's licenses or car registrations or land-use or business permits. They also will not be able to register Friday for various social service benefits.

City public schools will be closed, giving students, teachers and all nonessential school-based personnel the day off. All school activities have been canceled for Friday and Saturday, including athletic events. The Department of Public Works will continue to collect trash, fix potholes and clean city streets.

The city government's Emergency Management Agency will operate 16 hours a day through Sunday, coordinating requests for service. An operations center will open Friday morning, staffed by the FBI, the Secret Service and D.C. emergency services, among others.

An estimated 90,000 federal employees with offices in the heart of downtown will be granted a paid holiday Friday, with more than 70,000 expected to stay home. An additional 80,000 government workers in the District and Arlington are being urged to shift their work schedules, take a day of annual leave or, at a minimum, leave their cars at home.

In the private sector, many businesses are still deciding whether to shut down. The law firm of Arnold & Porter, for example, will allow its staff to take a paid day off, though the offices will remain open.

"Our clients won't be closed, so we are trying to strike a balance between maintaining service for our clients and recognizing that many of our employees simply won't be able to get here," said Managing Partner Jim Sandman. Lawyers and staff who show up will be allowed to take another day off as a holiday.

John Schwieters, area managing partner for Arthur Andersen and Co., with 1,500 employees at its 16th and K streets NW offices, complained that "communication has been lousy" among summit planners and business managers.

"At one point we were told we have to shut down and at another that we can stay open," said Schwieters. "But the latest information is that we might not be able to park in the garage. We just don't know what we can do."

Metrorail will be operating as usual, but the Federal Triangle station will be closed Friday through Sunday. Trains will run through the station without stopping. Metrobuses will be rerouted around streets that are closed and Metro Access, which provides transportation for the disabled, will not be able to drop people off or pick them up within the closed-off areas.

Residents throughout the city should expect delays in mail pickup and delivery, postal officials said. The Ben Franklin Station, at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, will be closed Friday. Collection boxes within the restricted perimeter will be removed temporarily.

For downtown residents, this weekend should be nothing if not interesting. People who live near the summit perimeter are being told that they may be asked for their driver's license if they want to move around, even on foot.

"It is going to disrupt life. That is one of the things you have to be aware of if you live downtown," said Charles Docter, chairman of the group Downtown Housing Now. He intends to leave town for the weekend.

City hotels will likely be 90 percent full this weekend, an industry specialist estimated. Roughly 10 restaurants are on downtown streets that will be closed. Some restaurants expect extra summit-inspired business from the crush of diplomats and journalists, but a decline in local trade as residents choose to steer clear.

The presence of three international delegations at the Willard Inter-Continental Hotel may mean that the hotel's front entrance will be closed to automobile traffic, said spokeswoman Kristina Messner.

The 344-room Hotel Washington, at 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, will be largely filled with media and support staff from NATO headquarters. But it also has two weddings scheduled this weekend, and an association meeting that will bring in 75 guests.

"We are anticipating the worst," said Troy Cardwell, sales and marketing director for Hotel Washington. "Getting people to and from the airports, getting people from the hotel to destinations within the city, all of that could be difficult."

NATO diplomats are not the only crowd in town this weekend. The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging is expecting 1,000 people at its legislative conference at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on Calvert Street NW.

The Daughters of the American Revolution is anticipating 3,000 arrivals for its 108th Continental Congress, headquartered at the Capital Hilton at 16th and K streets NW. They considered canceling, but respect for history dictated otherwise: This week marks the 224th anniversary of the firing of shots in Lexington, Mass., the start of the American Revolution.