Tobin asks why deck on Hancock still closed

Four years after the observation deck in Boston's iconic John Hancock Tower was closed to the public because of worries over terrorism, City Councilor John Tobin Jr. of West Roxbury wants to know why it hasn't been reopened.

''A lot of people have a hard time understanding why the observatory deck still remains closed," he said at a City Council hearing to question why a space once treasured by the public is now used for offices.

Representatives from Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners, the real estate investment company that owns the building, said they were not informed of the public hearing until Friday and didn't attend.

Carlo A. Boccia, Boston's director of homeland security, asserted that it seems the company is justified in keeping the space closed.

''You have to be concerned with the people who do visit the building," he said, listing potential problems if the deck were reopened. ''How are you going to arrange for having people exit rapidly? I'm not sure that can easily be done in that building."

Representatives from John Hancock Insurance and Financial Services, the building's main tenants, said the deck remains closed because of security concerns, and that all its old furnishings, including telescopes and colorful maps of the city, have been removed.

''There were increasing concerns about safety issues," said James Gallagher, senior vice president of John Hancock Financial.

A stipulation in the recent sale of the building was that the observatory would not be reopened, Hancock officials said.

Gallagher disputed that developers made an agreement with the city to create a public space when the building was built in 1975.

''We made a fairly diligent search of our records," said Gallagher. ''We could find no reference to any commitment to provide an observation deck."

Tobin said he plans to pursue the matter.