New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced he is “sure” that pro-Palestine activists will attempt to disrupt the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square, and has beefed up the city’s security to confront the threat.
“We’re sure there’s gonna be some type of attempt this year,” said Adams at a presser on Tuesday. “Everyone looks for events like this if they want to do bad things, and the police department is on top of it.”
In response, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) is dispatching thousands of officers to the district in uniform and under cover to mitigate the impact. The police will also be utilizing surveillance technology to monitor the situation.
“The variety of tools, whether robots, drones, bomb-sniffing dogs, all those things are in play,” former NYPD Deputy Commissioner Richard Esposito told CBS News. “They’re gonna be on alert for something different than we’ve had in the past, but they are mostly concerned that the people who go out, enjoy their night, and they want to keep the protests and the freedom of speech from interfering with other people’s freedom of enjoying themselves.”
NYC Mayor Eric Adams says the NYPD is bracing for Pro Palestinian protestors at the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square. https://t.co/A7Q3w7Dp3W@CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/uDcD2UtWYU
— Ali Bauman (@AliBaumanTV) December 27, 2023
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Times Square will have security checkpoints and screenings for the event, and multiple private security firms and federal authorities will be involved. The president of the Times Square Alliance, a local civil society group working in tandem with law enforcement, said: “If you’re going to come and try to disrupt the event, you’re probably not gonna be successful, and if you are, you’re going to be arrested […] So stay home and protest someplace else.”
Palestine protestors tried to disrupt the famed lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in late November. Activists affiliated with self-described socialist organization Workers World Party and others heckled Christmas celebrants and police officers while waving Palestinian flags. Then, just days ago, a pro-Palestine mob marching under the slogan “Christmas is Canceled” came to blows with city police in a riot that resulted in multiple arrests and a level-three law enforcement mobilization.
Mayor Adams is reportedly concerned about the NYPD’s ability to handle the protests due to an earlier ruling from the city this year on mass demonstrations. The police have sworn off “kettling,” or the practice of herding protestors into a confined area and making arrests.
“The Police Department … [has] to be extremely more hesitant in actions that they would have carried out in the past to keep the peace,” Adams said. “I did not agree with the concept of those changes. I pushed back hard … I thought it put us on a very troubling direction.”
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