It’s gonna be a hot summer in the Big Apple — and the city is ready to keep things cool.
An unprecedented multi-agency task force is prepped to handle a tsunami of tourists expected to descend on the New York metro area for a slew of high-profile events, from World Cup matches across the river in Jersey to Fourth of July and Price Day celebrations.
“We have the equivalent of nine Super Bowls happening in New York City,” Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol told The Post Wednesday. “They’re expecting about 3-billion-plus people to watch the World Cup next summer. We’ve got nine games [near] the city.
Independence Day in New York City will be even bigger this year with the 250th anniversary of the USA on tap. Getty Images
“But on top of that we have the 250th birthday of America,” Iscol said. “We’re going to have fireworks on both rivers. We have ‘Sail 250,’ which is going to be like Fleet Week on steroids, plus we have all the parades and all the other stuff we have in the city that we have to deal with.”
The NYPD and regional agencies have mastered security at massive events, including New Year’s Eve in Times Square, the New York City Marathon and even the Super Bowl at MetLife in 2014.
But the crowds are expected to be something else next year.
About 200 representatives from every local, state and federal law enforcement agency huddled at the city’s Emergency Operations Center in Brooklyn Heights to plan the response, officials said.
The Big Apple will see a massive spill over this summer when eight World Cup games are held at MetLife Stadium. Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images
The annual Puerto Rican Day Parade, an annual tradition, will be one of a slew of huge events in the city this summer. Michael Nagle
“We’re having, you know, an unprecedented meeting and operations system for an unprecedented event,” said Alex Lazary, CEO of the NY/NJ FIFA World Cup Host Committee, which will monitor eight games at MetLife Stadium at the New Jersey Meadowlands from June 11 to July 19.
The cup, the most-watched sporting event in the world, will spill over into the Big Apple with patrons packing bars in the five boroughs for watch parties — including a massive gathering scheduled for Rockefeller Center, smack in the middle of Midtown.
Starting with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and NYC Pride March in June, the crowds are expected to grow in July, with annual Fleet Week and Independence Day, given that it will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The Cuauhtemoc, the Mexican sailing ship that hit the Brooklyn Bridge in May, will return to New York in July. Helayne Seidman
The NYPD has mastered security at large scale events, and will be ready for a bigger change in 2026, officials said. TNS
That will include “Sail 4th” over the July 4th holiday, which will bring an armada of tall ships into New York Harbor, including the ARM Cuauhtémoc, the Mexican training ship that smashed into the Brooklyn Bridge in May, which will be making it’s first return voyage to Manhattan.
Even the US Navy is on board for the advance prep work.
“The biggest challenges in coordinating, planning and executing ‘International Naval Review 250’ are basically the number of different elements that the operation encompasses,” said US Navy Rear Admiral Gavin Duff. “One is just the sheer size and magnitude, bringing in 95 different ships from both the US and international allies.
“An average Fleet week numbers about five to seven ships,” he said. “We’re in the 18 to 20 times of what is normal.”
Col. David Sierotowicz — Homeland Security Branch commander of the New Jersey State Police, said the biggest challenge for law enforcement prep is getting all partners in various agencies together.
“We want to make sure that they all have the information they need in real time, and everyone is coming to the table as one unit for public safety,” Sierotowicz said.