City Officials Promise Intense Security For Marathon This Weekend
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Fifty thousand runners are converging on New York City ahead of this weekend's big race.
Security has been heightened for Sunday's New York City marathon after the deadly Halloween terror attack in Lower Manhattan.
"There's a sense in this city right now that it's our job to stand up and be unafraid," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
"We have people here from all over the globe. My message is we will keep them safe," de Blasio continued. "We're working very, very closely with our federal and state partners and there is an extensive amount of effort being made and additional resources being used to keep everyone safe."
"Sunday's marathon will be a very well policed event, with many levels of security," NYPD Chief of Department Carlos Gomez said.
More than 20 local, state and federal agencies will be coordinating security coverage at the Joint Operations Center at 1 Police Plaza, Gomez said. Heavy trucks filled with sand will be stationed strategically along with additional observation posts and heavy weapons teams - all in addition to the thousands of uniformed police officers.
"We will have hundreds of counterterrorism-trained officers on the route. They will have radiation detection devices on their person. There will be a substantial number of explosive detecting canines on the route. We will utilize our aviation to monitor the crowds, the event, the race, the rooftops from above. Our harbor units will also be involved," Gomez said.
"New Yorkers continue to mourn the eight lives that were lost tragically in Lower Manhattan this week, but we are resilient and we will not be deterred by this cowardly attack," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "Out of an abundance of caution, we are stepping up security measures at the marathon with additional patrols and resources from an array of state law enforcement agencies."
The boosted security is getting a stamp of approval from some runners already.
"New York City does it better than anybody else," runner Susan Miller told 1010 WINS' Al Jones. "If there's any city that I want to do this in, it would be New York."
