Mr. Bloomberg has dismissed the idea of closing Rikers for decontamination.
When did the idea of closing Guantánamo begin to go wrong?
The school board, which rejected the idea of closing the Wigwam in 2009, reversed that decision last March.
"The building that's currently occurring," Mr. Harkin said, "is not consistent with the idea of closing the detention center".
During recent months there has been tension between BBC management and the BBC Trust over the idea of closing a service.
"It's our damned duty to help refugees," she said, dismissing the idea of closing Germany's borders.
A diocesan committee has floated the idea of closing the church, on grounds that it is neither sustainable nor capable of becoming so.
"A school should not be a memorial," said Cindy Stevenson, superintendent in Jefferson County, Colo., where school officials and parents rejected the idea of closing Columbine High School after the shooting.
They think they were elected to shut down the government, so the idea of closing nonessential services must sound like a day at the beach.
Surgeons are always handy with a needle and thread, but the idea of closing skin incisions without stitches is attractive too.
