h. nazan ışık—
29 December 2016—
“I want to remind everyone, if you’re going to Times Square for New Year’s Eve remember there are very clear rules,” said the Mayor.
Umbrellas are, of course, not the only things not to bring with you to Times Square to welcome 2017. There are more rules to remember, to follow.
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Police Commissioner James O’Neill and Mayor Bill de Blasio hosted a press conference on Thursday, 29 December at NASDAQ MarketSite to discuss security preparedness for New Year’s Eve. (From left to right) Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner James O’Neill, Chief of Department Carlos Gomez, Bill Sweeney the FBI’s assistant director in charge.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill: “We anticipate close to two million celebrants here in Times to watch the ball drop, and we are ready to protect them. This will be a very well-protected event. It probably will be our most protected event with multiple layers of security:
65 sand-filled trucks, over 100 blocker vehicles to stop vehicles from coming into areas where there are pedestrians, police vehicles, explosive-detecting canines, the dogs, 7000 police officers, Critical Response Command, Strategic Response Group, Emergency Services Unit, network of cameras – hundreds of them – to assist in our security efforts, rooftop observation posts as well as our fleet of helicopters observing the event from above, a detailed personnel to sweep hotels, theaters, and parking garages for potential threats and suspicious packages.
“And, there are many officers that you will be able to see, and many others that you won’t. We will have officers attired in civilian clothes that are specially trained in detecting suspicious behavior,
“And there will be several layers of screening of celebrants to enter Times Square.”
These are some examples of what NYPD will be using on New Year’s Eve. Expect the same, thorough out the city; subways, and other places, welcome New Year with festivities, like Central Park, Coney Island. Prospect Park.
Mayor de Blasio: ”New Year’s Eve we expect as per usual, over a million people. I’m not quite sure why a million people want to stand in the freezing cold for long, long periods of time, but they do.” Everyone laughed noticeably.
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(L to R) Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan, NYPD, Police Commissioner James O’Neill, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chief of Department Carlos Gomez.
The Mayor continues with a smile: “I want to remind everyone, if you’re going to Times Square for New Year’s Eve remember there are very clear rules, very clear conditions. You cannot bring umbrellas; you cannot bring large bags. Sometimes there is controversy over that. I wanted to be real clear upfront, just don’t do it. If you don’t want your umbrella taken away, you don’t want your large bag taken away don’t bring it. And if you are worried that you may have to stand out in the rain, well you have various choices you can make about how you want to spend your New Year’s Eve.”
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More laughter….
Besides umbrellas, you can’t bring big bags, backpacks, coolers, alcohol, gravity knifes, … and screening officers will confiscate all.
Happy New Year!
Photos: © h. nazan ışık / NKENdiKEN
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