NYPD plans major holiday deployment for fireworks, soccer and MSG wedding
New York police say thousands of officers will work through a crowded July Fourth weekend complicated by heat, waterfront events and celebrity crowds.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The New York Police Department plans to put thousands of officers on duty for an unusually crowded July Fourth weekend that includes major waterfront celebrations, a World Cup match and a high-profile event at Madison Square Garden. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday that officials know of no specific, credible threat tied to the holiday events, the Associated Press reported.
The schedule will test one of the world’s largest police departments as a heat wave also raises pressure on emergency medical workers, according to the AP. The city’s holiday program includes sailing ship and naval vessel parades on the Hudson and East rivers, aircraft flyovers and the Macy’s fireworks show.
Tisch also acknowledged that police are preparing for an event Friday night at Madison Square Garden, the AP reported. A law enforcement official briefed on the plans told the AP that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding is scheduled for Friday, with a smaller rehearsal dinner planned for Thursday. The official spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the plans publicly.
Tisch said the department would have officers assigned to the Garden event but declined to provide details, according to the AP. Police have already placed crowd-control barriers and no-parking signs near the arena, which sits above Penn Station, as fans and onlookers are expected to gather in the area.
Along the waterfront, the department will deploy uniformed officers, K-9 teams and heavily armed units for Sail 250 events, officials said. The AP reported that the festivities are expected to bring about 100 vessels and roughly 27,000 sailors, crew members and dignitaries to the city for events beginning Friday and continuing beyond Saturday.
Officials said people heading to waterfront viewing areas Saturday will have to pass through security checkpoints, according to the AP. The police plan also includes counterterrorism teams, bomb squad personnel, explosive-detection dogs, plainclothes officers and harbor units.
The Macy’s fireworks show will add another layer of security work Saturday night. The AP reported that 85,000 shells will be fired from six barges, while a laser display will run from the Brooklyn Bridge.
The NYPD’s aviation unit and drone teams will monitor the city from above during the fireworks, according to Tisch. She said drones flown illegally inside temporary flight restrictions around the show will be confiscated, the AP reported.
Police will also manage crowds connected to the World Cup on Sunday. Officials said special security limits will return to Penn Station, the city’s busiest rail hub, as fans head across the Hudson River for Brazil’s match against Norway.
Under those restrictions, only people holding tickets to the match will be allowed into some sections of the station, according to the AP. The combination of holiday tourists, soccer fans, waterfront crowds and celebrity watchers is expected to make the weekend a busy one for police and other city responders.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.