Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch held a news conference on Wednesday to discuss security measures being taken to protect New Yorkers during the Fourth of July weekend.
“At this time there are no specific and credible threats, and we are taking every possible precaution,” Mamdani said.
What You Need To Know
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch held a news conference on Wednesday to discuss security measures being taken to protect New Yorkers during the Fourth of July weekend
“At this time there are no specific and credible threats, and we are taking every possible precaution,” Mamdani said
The country will celebrate its 250th anniversary on Saturday, and with it will come a host of events, including a ship parade, an air show, ball drops and fireworks
“There will be heavy weapons teams, K-9 units, and thousands of uniformed officers. Aviation, harbor and our counter-drone teams will also be deployed. And on top of all of this, there will be additional security measures that you will not see,” Tisch said
The country will celebrate its 250th anniversary on Saturday, and with it will come a host of events, including a ship parade, an air show, ball drops and fireworks.
At the center of it all will be safety first, city officials said.
“We’re increasing deployments of uniformed officers across the five boroughs. We’ve also been working for months across all levels of city government as well as state and federal partners to keep our city safe,” Mamdani said.
There will also be specialized units for some of Saturday’s events, including the marquee water event known as Sail4th 250, which will feature a lineup of tall ships.
“There will be heavy weapons teams, K-9 units, and thousands of uniformed officers. Aviation, harbor and our counter-drone teams will also be deployed. And on top of all of this, there will be additional security measures that you will not see,” Tisch said.
NYPD officials said that attendees at designated viewing points of the shows, including the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks, will be subject to bag checks and pass through a magnetometer.
“The following items will not be allowed past the checkpoints, so don’t bring them: backpacks, coolers, lawn chairs, blankets, drones, alcohol, umbrellas or any item that could obstruct others’ view or pose a safety risk,” Tisch said.
On July 4, New Yorkers can expect road closures. The Brooklyn Bridge will be closed to pedestrian and car traffic, while a portion of the FDR Drive and the West Side Highway will be closed for part of the day.
“No matter where you are traveling this holiday weekend, plan ahead and budget extra time. We strongly recommend any fireworks attendees, Sail4th 250 viewers and football fans to rely on public transit to get to where they’re going,” Mamdani said.
There are some events complicating matters even more, including the Brazil versus Norway World Cup match, which will be held on Sunday. In addition, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are expected to be wed at Madison Square Garden in the coming days.
“I would be remiss not to mention an event that we are tracking at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The NYPD will, of course, have a detail in place, but I am not going to go into more specifics on that at this time,” said Tisch.