![Confetti flies in the air at Times Square on New Year's Eve in New York City on December 31, 2021. (Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP) (Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)](https://www.oann.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1237490100-800x534.jpg)
OAN’s Sophia Flores
1:36 PM – Wednesday, December 27, 2023
New York Democrat Mayor Eric Adams has announced that the New York Police Department (NYPD) will be on high alert during Times Square’s biggest event of the year, due to a plethora of ongoing pro-Palestine protests occurring in the Big Apple.
“We’re sure there’s gonna be some type of attempt this year,” Adams (D-N.Y.) said 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 an attempt to prevent any sort of disruption from happening while ringing in the New Year, NYPD is deploying thousands of officers to the area. Some officers will reportedly be in uniform and others will be sporting regular clothes in order to “blend in” with civilians.
Private security firms, federal authorities, and The Time Square Alliance are working alongside the police to make sure that the event runs smoothly and without any startling interruptions.
“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,” Times Square Alliance president Tom Harris asserted. “So stay home and protest someplace else.”
As of Wednesday, NYPD has reported that it has not received any credible threat of demonstrations planned at the ball drop.
Since Hamas attacked Israel and the war began on October 7th, at least 500 protests have taken place across New York.
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