Next Up: Opentable.com For City Hall Protests

And it wouldn’t be a protest at City Hall without Sheldon Silver:

The group scrambled under the portico at the top of the steps outside City Hall, seeking shelter from the rain. Paul Nagle, communications director for Councilman Alan J. Gerson, checked his cellphone for the time — 10:18 a.m. — and turned to the reporters gathered to cover the first of two back-to-back news conferences on the steps.

“O.K., we’re going to start as soon as Sheldon Silver gets through the magnetometers because we don’t want to lose New York 1 to the fire in Queens,” Mr. Nagle said.

Flustered, he had found himself juggling a competing news story and a delay by Mr. Silver, the speaker of the State Assembly and the news conference’s guest of honor, as the clock ticked toward the end of his allotted hour.

At 11 a.m., State Senator Eric Adams was scheduled to take over the spot.

“I’ll just wait for my turn,” Mr. Adams said as he stood off to the side.

The steps of City Hall — once the scene of loud, colorful protests and even a few violent riots — are now available only by appointment and must be booked much like a Saturday morning tee time.

With the public banned from City Hall Plaza, the only potential audience is the overstretched press corps, and only a few time slots — clustered around noon — really matter. Competition for them is intense.