NEW YORK (AP) – New York City police adopted familiar tactics ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations on Thursday, placing bomb-sniffing dogs and sand-filled sanitation trucks to protect them from explosions.
But the department’s handbook this year includes an unusual mandate: to prevent crowds of any size from gathering in Times Square.
Citing concerns about the spread of COVID-19, police closed the Crossroads of the World for vehicles and pedestrians at midnight and said they would disperse any viewers who ventured into a so-called “frozen zone” – the blocks around the ball that historically crowds on the shoulders draw shoulders.
The coronavirus has changed public life for months, and New Year’s Eve will be no different. This year, police said, partygoers heading to Times Square will not be allowed to pass police lines.
“If you think you’ll be able to stand and watch the ball, you’re wrong,” said department head Terence Monahan, referring to the sparkling crystal ball that rolls down a mast in Times Square each year Eva to mark the stroke of midnight.
The NYPD announced a two-part freeze that will become more extensive at 3 pm. Even guests at five hotels in the area were told to stay indoors.
NYPD patrol chief Juanita Holmes asked aspiring partygoers to call in 2021 “from the comfort of their home.”
“Coming to Times Square is a family tradition for some. It is an item on the bucket list for others. But this year is different, ”she said. “I can’t stress enough how important it is for everyone to stay home.”
The Police Department will also deploy heavy armament teams, explosive sniffer dogs, drones and sand trucks. But it planned a drastically reduced presence in Times Square, including an 80% reduction in its typical workforce assigned to the area.
“We always have to prepare for the worst in terms of layers of counterterrorism,” said police commissioner Dermot Shea, “but the crowds will not be as they were in other years.”
This year’s celebration will take place without the usual crowds of partygoers and kisses. In fact, the event’s special guests, rescuers and essential workers, should attend the festivities in a private and well-spaced area.
“It’s almost like an ‘Seinfeld’ episode,” said Shea, invoking the 1990s “show about nothing”.
“This is a throw of a ball out of nowhere, where you can’t see it,” he said, “so you better stay home.”