Back Bay workers, residents and others rallied Tuesday to keep the Hynes Convention Center open, making it clear they oppose any possible shutdown of the Back Bay landmark after the South Boston Convention Center opens in June.
“There was a promise made to us when the convention center was built,” said City Councilor Michael Ross (Fenway, Back Bay). “That promise has not been kept.”
Waitresses, doormen, taxi drivers, students and others gathered at Hynes, at 900 Boylston St., to show how important the convention center is to their lives.
Protesters carried signs saying, “Hynes = Jobs,” “Hynes feeds my kids” and “We lose Hynes, you lose votes” as they waved at cars passing by and chanted “Save the Hynes.”
Ross said Hynes must be kept open to strengthen the community, as he reminisced about his time spent as a food-service deliveryman at the convention center. He also said losing the convention center would hurt the surrounding area’s economy.
“This is not about politics. It’s about jobs, about providing for your families and about paying your student loan,” he said.
Hynes is vital to the city of Boston, especially to all of its hotels and restaurants, Ross said.
“We all know when a convention is in town it means money in our pockets,” he said. He also told everyone gathered to call Gov. Mitt Romney to implore him to keep the convention center open.
Ross energized the crowd as he brought home the potential economic impacts of shutting down the convention center.
“If your job is impacted in any way, raise your hand,” he told the crowd, at which point everyone present raised their hand.
Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, echoed Ross’s sentiments and said Hynes is a necessary part of the local community.
“This is critically important to the long-term future of Back Bay,” she said. “If the Hynes is closed, people would lose jobs, and that needs to be in the forefront of everyone’s mind.”
The protesters made it clear that they were not rallying against the South Boston Convention Center but simply to “support both facilities,” Mainzer-Cohen said.
The Hynes public relations department was unavailable for comment.
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