NYPD Prepares For Cold, Windy Thanksgiving Day Parade
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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The 92nd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is just a day away.
As always, security is a top priority. And this year, the forecast is causing some concerns.
The iconic balloons, floats and performers will be on display for more than three million people Thursday, which is expected to be one of the coldest Thanksgivings on record.
Mixed in with the bundled up crowds will be thousands of NYPD uniformed and undercover officers.
"Everything we do, we do in conjunction and close cooperation with the FBI, the New York State Police and many other law enforcement agencies," Police Commissioner James O'Neill said Tuesday.
Watch: NYPD Press Conference On Parade Security
The parade is one of the largest security events of the year for the department.
"You'll see the heavy weapons teams deployed strategically along the route, radiation detection pagers with the counterterrorism personnel there to monitor the air," said Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller.
The NYPD is adding four new explosive odor pursuit dogs to its K-9 counterterror unit. The dogs are trained to detect explosive scents from a distance of up to 50 yards.
There will also be sand-filled sanitation trucks blocking some streets along the 46-block parade route.
NYPD officials said they will be closely monitoring the weather.
"We do have seven fixed anemometers throughout the parade route, or wind speed instruments," Chief of Patrols Rodney Harrison said. "But if we have to call an audible on the day of and make an adjustment, we'll do as such."
The last time a parade was canceled in New York City was in 1971 due to heavy wind and rain.
