Amid ongoing tensions in the city, NYPD confident everyone will be safe at Village Halloween Parade
NEW YORK -- The NYPD is expecting more than 1 million people at Tuesday night's Village Halloween Parade.
And with recent tensions throughout the city, the department has laid out its plan to keep visitors safe.
Make no mistake, some folks were not dressed in costumes. CBS New York saw dozens of police officers just in this immediate area of Sixth Avenue and Waverly Place.
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The costumes shuffling by the officers may have been spooky, but when it comes to security, paradegoers said they didn't have any fears.
"I feel safe. I'm not worried tonight. We're gonna have fun," Mia Nieves said.
"I feel all right. It's amazing. Happy Halloween," a woman named Mary said.
"I feel like, okay. I feel like there's a lot of pretty decent police presence and things like that," Calvin Chen added.
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Mayor Eric Adams' office said there are no credible or specific threats to the city. However, tensions have been high due to protests and security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war.
The NYPD said it doesn't expect any protests to disrupt the parade.
"There are a couple small ones throughout the city, but we don't have anything planned that we know of tonight involving Halloween or around Halloween," Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
CBS New York saw groups of police officers gathered along Sixth Avenue more than six hours before the parade start time.
"We'll have Aviation up top. Some things you won't see. Our intel division will be very active tonight," Chell said.
The NYPD has been ramping up security over the last few weeks at mosques and synagogues. The mayor's office said it has the resources to handle security concerns in Jewish and Muslim communities and the security needed for the parade.
The mayor said he has heard from many people who are afraid to wear their yarmulkes or hijabs in the city, which is one reason why the city is putting such an emphasis on security Tuesday night.
"I've not witnessed in my entire time in this city the level of just outward hate that I am seeing," Adams said.
Despite those concerns, the mayor praised the NYPD and said it is being creative in putting plainclothes officers back in uniform to increase security.
As for the people, well, as some of the costumes suggest, they were more focused on having fun.
