Consulting firm shutters New York office on election security concerns

The day has come and although many people in New York were already working from home due to COVID, additional staff are being sent out of the city center on concerns of election-related violence.

Consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, which is headquartered at 600 Madison Avenue, yesterday shuttered its office following advice from law enforcement that there might be "civil and social unrest on the streets of New York" according to an email which was posted on the Litquidity Instagram account. 

Alvarez & Marsal didn't respond to a request to comment on the memo, which said the firm is concerned for the safety of staff commuting in and out of the office and asked them not to visit between November 4 and 6.

A separate memo, also posted on Instagram, ostensibly from ONEX, the investment firm at 712 Fifth Avenue, said extra "armed security" will be posted in the lobby between today and Friday and that the director of "Life Safety" will be available 24/7.

Larger banks like Goldman Sachs are not understood to have emailed employees informing them of similar precautions. One NY investor said the situation is unnerving: "I have to admit that I am scared given the number of businesses that are being boarded up," he said. Another JPMorgan banker said she'd be warned to stay out of the city by friends.

Photo by Jouwen Wang on Unsplash

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