the New York City The New York Police Department said on Monday that it continues to operate in an “increased threat environment” ahead of the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square.
More than a million visitors are expected to head to Times Square on Tuesday for the 120th tradition of watching the ball drop ring in the new year.
This year, the NYPD's class of more than 600 new recruits will work its first detail Tuesday night. At a news conference on security preparations on Monday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said there were no credible threats to the Times Square event at this time, but the department has been operating in an “increased threat environment” since the one-year anniversary of the incident. October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
New York City witnessed massive demonstrations against Israel, including encampments, anti-Semitic rallying cries and clashes with police. At Columbia University and New York University earlier this year.
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“We remain vigilant,” Teich told reporters. “The public can expect to see a huge amount of police resources deployed across the area and across the city. This includes members of some of our elite specialist units, including our Emergency Services Unit, which will be strategically deployed across the area on rooftops.” Our K-9 teams, who will be patrolling with bomb-sniffing dogs, our aviation unit will be in the sky scanning the event and its surroundings paying special attention to bridges and other landmarks, and of course, our drones will be deployed overhead monitoring the crowds in real time and… Watch out for any Suspicious or unusual activity.”
Last year, the NYPD had about four drone teams inside the “bowtie” and “frozen zone” around Times Square on New Year’s Eve. That number will rise to six drone teams — four inside the bowtie and two on the outer perimeter — this year, said Kaz Daughtry, NYPD Deputy Commissioner, adding that mobile drone teams will also operate around Manhattan and the rest of the city and monitor activity on the water as well.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall after meeting with incoming “border czar” Tom Homan on Thursday, December 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
A reporter at the news conference asked the NYPD if any additional security measures were being taken in Times Square in the wake of the suspected terrorist attack on a Christmas market in Germany last week. A A psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia He was reportedly arrested in connection with the December 20 hit-and-run at a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, which killed five people, including a nine-year-old boy, and injured more than 200 others.
“Every year we formulate our plan based on events happening around the world, right here in the city,” said Rebecca Weiner, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism. “Christmas Markets – I've just reported a horrific incident In Germany it involves Christmas markets – It's an ongoing, high-risk target, and so, frankly, are New Year's Eve celebrations around the world, and that's why we're so focused on all the resources that are here that are focused on keeping this city and this event safe. “So it's completely calibrated to what's going on outside.”
Pointing to precautions against collisions with vehicles, including NYPD trucks and cars, blocked at the scene, Weiner added: “We are very confident that it will be a safe and enjoyable evening for everyone.”
People take part in a New Year's Eve candy test in Times Square on December 29, 2024, in New York City. On New Year's Eve, 3,000 pounds of confetti will be launched over Times Square. (Alexey Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
The NYPD was also asked to address the emerging threat of the Venezuelan gang known as Aragua Train (TdA). Weiner said there is no specific gang-related threat in connection with the Times Square event, but the TdA matter is “just something we deal with constantly in a wide range of crime cases that we're pretty good at dealing with throughout the year.”
“There was a lot of work being done by our detective bureau, our patrol bureau, our intelligence and counterterrorism office,” she said. “This is an issue that we're dealing with and it's not limited to New Year's Eve in Times Square. But some of the newly emerging threats, the newly emerging crime patterns that we again tried to combat very early and very deeply so that we could 'some of this gang has become entrenched here in the city as You've seen it in other places around the country.
The NYPD will also use pickpocket squads, as well as “hotel response teams” to monitor suspicious activity or other “anomalous” events.
Aerial photo taken on New Year's Eve in Times Square on December 31, 2023. (Craig T. Frochtman/Getty Images)
All manholes, mailboxes, vending machines and trash cans in the “frozen zone” around Times Square will either be closed or removed, and frozen safety lanes will be created around the event using block cars and concrete barriers, Tisch said.
The police commissioner said: “As usual, there will be a lot of security measures that you will not see.” “No one handles large-scale events like this better than the NYPD, but we certainly don't do it alone. The Joint Operations Center will be fully activated with all of our city, state and federal partners.”
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Amid a series of high-profile murders and crimes on the subway — most notably the acquittal of Danielle Penny and the arrest of an illegal immigrant who allegedly set a sleeping woman on fire — New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD officials are still urging crowds to use public transportation to get to the Times Square event night. New Year. Despite the forecast for rain, NYPD officials said no umbrellas would be allowed in the viewing area. Backpacks, large bags, coolers, chairs and alcohol are also prohibited.
