NYPD orders all on-duty officers to report in uniform Friday after former Hamas chief calls for protests, but no credible threats to NYC
NEW YORK -- All NYPD officers reporting for duty Friday will be in full uniform as police step up patrols across New York City after a former Hamas chief called for protests across the Muslim world.
New Yorkers and commuters are likely to notice a greater security presence at schools, places of worship, transit hubs and in key neighborhoods, which were not disclosed.
There were no credible threats to New York City. The heightened security measures are in place in case of potential threats, while protests over Israel's war with Hamas are expected to continue.
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Nicholas Boshears, special agent in charge with the FBI in New York, said his team is actively monitoring the situation from all angles.
"We are working actively with NYPD to ensure that all areas throughout the city are being protected, and we're maintaining vigilance on what are considered high value locations, such as the United Nations, as well as other diplomatic institutions," said Boshears.
The FBI is encouraging New Yorkers to go about their business, but stay vigilant and report anything suspicious.
Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the National Guard to help protect transit hubs and said she directed New York State Police to ramp up security at yeshivas, synagogues, museums and other gathering places.
"We want to reiterate to New Yorkers, there's no reason to feel afraid. No one should feel they have to alter their normal lives or their routines," said Hochul.
"We have designated squads here in the New York office working with our joint terrorism task force to monitor tips, leads and any information coming in," said Boshears. "We vigorously review those and investigate them and determine if they're credible and then take action as appropriate."
New York Attorney General Letitia James says she wrote letters to major social media companies urging them to crack down on threats and violent rhetoric.
State police, National Guard and MTA Police patrolled Grand Central Terminal on Friday morning with long guns, protective vests and helmets. They want riders to know they're there and actively watching for any potential risks.
"We will have additional assets that you will see, and we will also have assets you do not see," said John J. Mueller, chief of MTA Police.
- Related story: Jewish, Palestinian communities stepping up security amid warfare between Israel and Hamas
Some religious leaders tell CBS New York they're adding more private security guards, too.
Rabbi Zvi Gluck, of Hashevaynu in Kew Gardens Hills, says he's hearing from people who are afraid to go to their synagogue.
"We have families that have reached out to us literally in the last two hours, asking, you know, 'We're supposed to have an event, a bar mitzvah, can you please help us find private security that can be at the synagogue? Otherwise, we're not gonna do it,'" Gluck said.
The staff at the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, New Jersey, tells CBS New York they usually keep their doors unlocked, but now they're buzzing people in.
NYPD sources tell CBS New York there will be an increased police presence throughout the weekend and it will be re-evaluated Monday.