Mayor Eric Adams said he is “confident” that pro-Palestinian protesters will try to disrupt the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square after already disrupting the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and the Thanksgiving Day parade. Thank you from Macy’s.
“We’re sure there will be some kind of attempt this year,” the mayor said at a news conference Tuesday.
“Everyone looks for events like this if they want to do bad things, and the police department is aware of it.”
To avoid any type of disruption, the NYPD is deploying thousands of officers to the area, both uniformed and plainclothes.
Officers will also use different technologies and strategies to monitor any potential threats.
“The variety of tools, whether it’s robots, drones, bomb-sniffing dogs, all of those things are in play,” former Deputy Commissioner Richard Esposito told CBS New York.
“They will be on alert for something different than what we have had in the past, but what worries them most is [about] the people who go out [to] “They enjoy their night and want to prevent protests and freedom of speech from interfering with other people’s freedom and enjoyment.”
Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that he is “confident” that pro-Palestinian protesters will try to disrupt the New Year’s ball drop. William Farrington Thousands of revelers are expected to descend on Times Square for the annual Drop Ball. Christopher Sadowski
The Times Square Alliance is also working directly with the NYPD, as well as private security companies and federal authorities, to keep the site secure.
“If you’re going to come and try to disrupt the event, you’re probably not going to be successful, and if you’re successful, you’re going to be arrested,” Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris said.
“So stay home and protest somewhere else.”
The Crossroads of the World will be cordoned off from midday on New Year’s Eve, and anyone attempting to access the area will have to go through police checkpoints and security checkpoints.
But Adams expressed concern about the NYPD’s ability to handle pro-Palestinian protesters after the city was forced to settle earlier this year in a lawsuit that changes the way police can respond to mass demonstrations.
The NYPD is deploying thousands of officers to the area, both uniformed and plainclothes, who will use a variety of technologies to monitor potential threats. Stephen Yang for the New York Post
The department agreed to abandon “kettling,” the crowd control tactic of grouping and confining protesters to a small area before making arrests, as part of the deal announced in September.
“The Police Department… [has] be much more hesitant in actions they would have taken in the past to maintain peace,” Hizzoner warned.
“I didn’t agree with the concept of those changes,” he continued. “I backed away hard…I thought it put us in a very worrying direction.”
The NYPD has said it has not received any credible threats of demonstrations at the time of the drop.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have already invaded the streets surrounding Rockefeller Center during its annual Christmas tree lighting event earlier this month.
In total, there have been more than 500 demonstrations throughout the Big Apple since the war in Israel began. James Keivom for the NY Post
Waving Palestinian flags and signs calling for an “end to the genocide,” protesters gathered on Sixth Avenue alongside hordes of tourists queuing to watch the iconic ceremony.
Unable to reach the iconic tree, the huge crowd gathered around the one outside the News Corp building, which houses The Post and Fox News, and which has already been attacked by pro-Palestinian protesters on at least two occasions.
Last month, anti-Israel protesters disrupted the Thanksgiving Day Parade by taping their hands in the middle of Sixth Avenue and covering themselves in fake blood.
In total, there have been more than 500 demonstrations across the Big Apple since Israel’s war against Hamas began following the terrorist group’s attack on October 7, CBS reports.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn