(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) New York City officials declared Friday that there are no “specific credible threats” ahead of the city’s popular New Year’s Eve party.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, however, cautioned that law enforcement will be on high alert and fully deployed during the Times Square ball drop event.
“We will be out here with our K-9s, on horseback, our helicopters, our boats,” Adams said during a Friday press conference. “The full complement of our public safety apparatus will be on display.”
Individuals planning to attend the event will be prohibited from carrying backpacks, duffel bags, and packages. Alcohol is also banned, the mayor said.
“The entire team over at intel, they are monitoring the usual chatter and as Chief [Jeff Maddrey] said, there are no specific threats to the city,” Adams declared.
“But as we saw last year, after having no specific threats we get a threat,” he added, referring to the Islamist machete attack against an officer on his first day on the job.
NYPD Chief Maddrey reiterated the city’s readiness for the New Year’s Eve celebrations during the press conference.
“Our special operations, our counterterrorism units, our canine units will be deployed all throughout Times Square—throughout the city,” he said. “There will be a large contingency of officers you won’t see as well, many plainclothes ensuring the safety of our city.”
Earlier this week, Adams said that pro-Palestinian hecklers might attempt to disrupt the holiday celebrations in Times Square.
“We’re sure there’s gonna be some type of attempt this year,” he said on Dec. 27 press conference. “Everyone looks for events like this if they want to do bad things, and the police department is on top of it.”
His comments followed violent clashes between pro-Palestinian and NYPD officers during the family-friendly Christmas tree lighting event at the Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan, resulting in the arrest of at least six individuals.
