The NYPD is executing a comprehensive security plan in and around the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as more than a million fans are expected to turn out for the US Open tournament in the coming days.
NYPD officials developed the plan over the course of several months, and security at the event is being led by the department’s US Open detail, which consists of hundreds of officers from a range of different units.
“With every event of this scope and this size, there will be security measures that you will see and others that you will not see,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference Friday. The tournament began on Sunday and continues through Sept. 7.
The detail is made up of officers from the NYPD’s Bomb Squad, the aviation and mounted units, drone operators, the Strategic Response Group, Counterterrorism and others, Tisch said. The detail will include explosive-detection canines, heavy weapons teams and plain clothes officers, she said.
The units, drone operators, the Strategic Response Group, the Counterterrorism Bureau and others, Tisch said. The detail will include explosive-detection canines, heavy weapons teams and plain clothes officers, she said.
Tisch added there are currently no credible threats to the tournament.
In addition, police are working with other agencies at the city, state and federal levels to ensure security, including the FBI, the FDNY, the city’s Parks Department and the New York State Office of Emergency Management, she added.
“This is certainly a group effort,” Tisch said, adding that they plan to hold inter-agency meetings every day of the tournament.
Tisch said the city is expecting more than a million spectators to attend the event and urged fans to use mass transit to travel to the park. The department will increase the number of officers at a number of subway stations near the tennis center, she added.
In addition to police officers, more transit-bureau K-9 units will also be assigned to the stations, Tisch said.