NYC Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD officials discuss enhanced security during Jewish High Holy Days
NEW YORK -- Amid the growing tensions in the Middle East, the NYPD is on high alert, especially with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, beginning Wednesday night.
Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD officials held a briefing earlier in the day to let New Yorkers know about stepped-up security measures in the coming days.
Law enforcement officials have identified key locations and places of worship, including East Side Synagogue. K-9s and officers with long guns are on patrol, and additional cameras have been placed at sensitive locations.
"We've been doing this for the past two decades and with real sustained intensity over the past year," said Rebecca Weiner, the NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism.
Adams said officials are aware of "significant protests" planned for Monday, Oct. 7, which will mark one year since Hamas launched its terror attack on Israel.
"There will be a zero tolerance for those who violate the law, impede traffic and damage property while doing so. We will not accept for people to be threatened at their places of work, their places of worship, or any place here in New York City," Adams said. "No matter what is going on on the globe, here in New York City, you will be safe."
Adams said New Yorkers can expect to see more NYPD officers in uniform at up to 50 key locations.
"We will have an omnipresence and a real visible presence of uniformed personnel," Adams said.
"Throughout the year, we've been working on a security plan with direct input from our Jewish community. That's so important. This doesn't start weeks before. This is a plan that's been in the making for over a year," Interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon said.
Among those enhanced security measures: A more visible presence of heavily armed NYPD Critical Response Teams, more K-9 units and more.
Security increased after Iran attacks Israel
Following Iran's attack on Israel on Tuesday, the NYPD immediately ramped up security. Gov. Kathy Hochul directed New York State Police to increase patrols of at-risk locations across the state.
Many synagogues, mosques and religious community centers had already added protection over the past year, as a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
"We've been concerned as Israel-Hezbollah tensions, Israel-Iran tensions have been escalating since Oct. 7 that there's some type of possibility that Iran or their terrorist proxy Hezbollah might seek some type of retribution against Israeli, American or Jewish targets here in New York, here in the United States," said Mitch Silber, executive director of the Community Security Initiative.
The NYPD is monitoring chatter online, looking for any kind of potential threat.
Hochul said, right now, "There are no reported threats to New Yorkers at this time. Again, there's no know threats," adding, "We also have to be aware of threats that could occur in Westchester, Long Island, and other populations outside of New York City, also protecting the Muslim communities as well as the Jewish communities against hate crimes that could ensue."