Pennsylvania offers itself as safe alternative to Wall Street
Governor Ed Rendell spearheads a campaign to persuade Wall Street companies to locate their back offices in the Poconos, arguing that it is far enough from New York to be outside a nuclear blast zone
Some people’s worries are other people’s gains. In evidence: Responding to post 9/11 jitters among firms located in Wall Street, Pennsylvania officials are now advertising a corner of their state as a safer alternative. The New York Times’s Patrick McGeehan reported last week that these officials are promoting this region as a Wall Street alternative because it is 100 miles west of Manhattan, making it outside a nuclear blast zone should a nuclear bomb be detonated in midtown Manhattan. It is thus close enough to the city to allow computers that run the banking and trading system to be linked, but far enough to offer a safe retreat.
Governor Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania visited New York last week to announce plans to build a critical connection: a $24 million network of fiber optic cables to carry data from Manhattan to the Poconos. So far, thogh, none of the big banks, investment banks, or insurance companies based in New York city has committed to putting data backup centers in that part of Pennsylvania. Most have instead been spreading out within the metropolitan area in order to allow themselves more flexibility in reacting to crises ranging from power failures to natural disasters and terrorism.
