In a 90-minute walkthrough and discussion with Boston police officials, representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the state chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said that despite securing a bigger space and promises from city officials to provide a sound system, they still have a number of concerns.

"It's hard to fathom an area in such incredible disarray could possibly be blacktopped and ready to go before the convention," said Carol Rose, executive director of the state's ACLU. "Right now, it's a tangle of barbed wire, a cesspool of dirt and rock and garbage. Whether it comes from a theory into reality is the question."
Rose, who aggressively lobbied for a larger demonstration area closer to the FleetCenter, said the current space on Causeway Street is an improvement over the original triangle-shaped lot on North Washington Street.

Still, protest advocates said it will be difficult for protesters and delegates to see each other, particularly because of a large, inflammable fabric curtain that Secret Service officials plan to hang along Causeway Street.
Urszula Masny-Latos, the executive director of the Lawyers Guild, said the area may also be unsafe. It is blocked on three sides by either buildings or 8-foot-high fencing, with only narrow alleyways, she said.
"It will be very difficult to leave the area," Masny-Latos said.

Mary Jo Harris, legal adviser to the Boston police, said meetings will continue during the next few weeks. Construction, which includes paving, is on schedule, she said.
"It's in our best interest to make sure it's done," Harris said.