In a document from the Department of Homeland Security, the New York police judge that the city and more broadly the United States “face an increased and dynamic threat environment linked to ongoing geopolitical conflicts”.
An emblematic place to celebrate the transition from one year to the next in New York, Times Square will be the subject of all the attention of the American authorities on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. According to NBC News, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are on alert, concerned that New Year's Eve celebrations could be disrupted by protests or violence.
Quoted in a Department of Homeland Security document examining potential risks, the New York Police Department believes that the city and more generally the United States “face an increased and dynamic threat environment linked to ongoing geopolitical conflicts “. A context according to her conducive to the mobilization of “extremists and malicious actors” targeting “mass gatherings, emblematic places and high-profile events”.
The Department of Homeland Security says it is concerned about people who could carry out “simple and unsophisticated” attacks due to the current situation in the Middle East and more particularly the “conflict between Israel and Hamas”.
The mayor of New York wants to be reassuring
This war “has created an increased level of threat” and American intelligence “remains concerned about isolated individuals” encouraging violence “against the Jewish, Muslim, Christian or Arab communities”.
New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said there was no specific threat to New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square, adding that law enforcement remained “vigilant” and was operating in a “heightened threat environment”.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, for his part wanted to be reassuring. On Monday, he said Times Square will be a safe place for the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who will celebrate the New Year there.
“We will make sure that each of you coming to admire the famous descent of the crystal ball of Times Square is safe” and that the blue police uniforms are “omnipresent,” he said.
