NYC, Washington stores boarded up over likely unrest

Bloomberg

Temporary extra fencing has been erected around the White House, plywood affixed to storefronts in Manhattan and the National Guard put on notice in Portland, Oregon, as US cities braced for possible unrest on election day.
“We don’t see specific reports or threats at this point,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters. “We are ready for all sorts of challenges. A lot of preparation has been happening over the last few weeks and I’m meeting with city officials today to continue that preparation.”
Most midtown Manhattan storefronts have been boarded up on Fifth and Madison Avenues, though the mayor said the city hadn’t advised businesses to take such steps.
Similar calculations were being made across the country as a campaign marked by unusual rancor and harsh rhetoric gives way to a final day of voting on Tuesday — followed by a potentially long period of vote counting that will determine if President Donald Trump receives a second term or Joe Biden gets sworn in come January.
In Washington, a likely focus for demonstrations, shops and other businesses located within several blocks of the White House already closed their doors, with some planning to stay shuttered the rest of the week or longer.
Nearly a dozen organised protests, assemblies and prayer vigils received permits from the National Park Service for organised actions this week. Multiple permits have been filed with the city for large gatherings as well, including an eight-hour demonstration with a giant digital screen and live music scheduled for election night that may draw thousands to the recently christened Black Lives Matter Plaza across a park from the White House.
Unsanctioned protests are almost certain, too, especially in the wake of the death of Karon Hylton, a young Black man who died in a crash on his moped while being followed closely by a police cruiser in the national capital on October 23. Security staff were erecting temporary fencing around the White House and adjacent public grounds, much like the security barrier that the administration built to seal off the Ellipse and Lafayette Square during tense protests over the summer.