A Pitch for the Biolab
Boston Herald
February 13, 2007
Here in the Athens of America we tend to lose sight of our good fortune from time to time. In the case of the bio-defense laboratory now under construction in the South End – well, leave it to the mayor of a struggling city in upstate New York to point out that some of our fellow Athenians are looking a big, fat gift horse in the mouth.
“You’re fighting over it – and here we are begging for (new job) opportunities,” James Brown, mayor of Rome, N.Y., told the Herald last week. “People don’t want it (in Boston). So why not build it somewhere where people need and want it?”
Surely that was music to the ears of the opponents of the biolab who have thrown up legal roadblock after legal roadblock to stop it. While construction is proceeding apace, two pending lawsuits could potentially derail the lab. Surely the opponents would be just as happy to see Brown succeed in his long-shot bid to wrestle the project away from Boston and bring it to Rome, which would roll out the welcome mat.
Concerns about the lab in Boston have centered mostly on safety and health of the residents who live near the Albany Street site, and that’s understandable. The anti-terrorism lab will be studying infectious diseases and conducting research on deadly viruses like anthrax and ebola.
But the opponents have managed to hijack the discussion so that the benefits are almost an afterthought. No one should lose sight of Brown’s point – that the project promises a bounty of new jobs, about 1,300 in construction and nearly 700 permanent positions, many of which could be claimed by city residents who would be darned grateful for the work.
By Boston Herald Editorial Staff Monday, February 12, 2007