Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning. I want to thank Commissioner Tisch, Coast Guard Captain Jonathan Andrechik and NYPD leadership for joining me as we look ahead to a week of festivities commemorating America’s 250th anniversary. Before I detail our security plans for the holiday weekend, I want to acknowledge what many of us are surely feeling right now — the heat. As of Monday, our city has entered into a heat emergency, expecting to last through the weekend. If the forecast holds, this could be the hottest Fourth of July since 2010.
We are taking every precaution to ensure New Yorkers have somewhere to stay cool during this period of extreme weather. I have activated the City’s Heat Emergency Plan, and we will issue targeted warnings through our city’s Advanced Warning System to protect vulnerable New Yorkers. The city has opened hundreds of cooling centers across the five boroughs. We have also launched a fleet of more than a dozen cooling vans, where New Yorkers can access medical care and resources like water, electrolytes, sunscreen, as well as meals. Visit nyc.gov/beattheheat for a map of cooling centers, including pet friendly options and for more information on how to stay safe.
And as always, if you see someone who needs help in this heat, call 3-1-1 and an outreach team will be sent to help. For the first time in our city's recent history, we will also be dispatching professionals to check in on older New Yorkers in need of any attention. Whatever your plans this holiday, please make sure that you take breaks; you stay indoors when you can; you pack water; you stay hydrated; [and] you stay safe, cool and prepared.
Now let's turn our attention to the measures that we are taking across city agencies to ensure that everyone's safety is a reality this holiday weekend. This is a busy, celebratory time in our city. This Fourth of July weekend, we are planning for multiple major events. The first is a series of water and air celebrations in honor of our nation's 25th anniversary. These include the International Naval Review, the International Aerial Review [and] Sail4th 250th Parade of Tall Ships on the morning of Saturday, July 4. We will also host the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks on the evening of Saturday, July 4. To cap off the weekend, the Brazil vs. Norway FIFA World Cup match will take place on the afternoon of Sunday, July 5. We have a comprehensive security plan in place for each of these events to ensure that everyone can enjoy the festivities safely.
First, we are increasing deployment of uniformed officers across the five boroughs. We have also been working for months across all levels of City government, as well as with state and federal partners, to keep our city safe. And because this week's activities take place not only on land and in air, but also on sea, we are coordinating with the Coast Guard and the Navy. We continue to operate in a heightened threat environment. At this time, there are no specific and credible threats, and we are taking every possible precaution to safeguard our city. I encourage New Yorkers to stay up to date by signing up for Notify NYC by texting NOTIFYNYC to 692-692.
Now, let's get into the specifics of what you need to know if you plan on attending any of this weekend's incredible events. On Saturday morning, we will host a series of events on the Hudson River. The Parade of Tall Ships will feature the largest ever international flotilla of tall ships in American history. New Yorkers will be able to watch the Parade of Tall Ships at designated viewing spots at five different points along the West Side Highway and West Street. Those spots are located at West 55th Street, West 44th Street, West 24th Street, West 11th Street, Christopher Street and Laight Street.
The Naval Review will begin sometime after 7 a.m. Plan ahead for extra travel time and expect security screenings and bag checks before entering any designated viewing areas. For more information, visit sail4th.org. Lastly, for those in the area with small children or seniors, please bring earplugs. Each U.S. Naval vessel will be conducting a 21-gun salute. We are also expecting increased noise during the International Aerial Review beginning at 10:15 a.m.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of Macy's Fourth of July fireworks. I know that many New Yorkers have fond memories of watching the fireworks along the East River. Public viewing locations along the FDR will open by 6 p.m. [and] the fireworks will begin at 9:25 p.m. Designated waterfront viewing areas are also available along the Brooklyn waterfront, these are ticketed only and entry instructions are provided with each ticket. Go to july4.events.nyc to learn more about specific viewing locations, entry points and prohibited items, as well as information about road closures and public transit schedules.
On Sunday, we will host Brazil vs. Norway at 4 p.m. in a round of 16 match at New York-New Jersey Stadium. For those traveling to the stadium, I want to encourage you to make use of public transit. As with every World Cup game, traffic will be heavy. Bus and shuttle corridors and lanes will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday and remain in effect until as late as 10 p.m. Fifth and Sixth Avenues from 42nd Street to 59th Street will be dedicated to buses and shuttles, as will 42nd Street from First to 12th Avenue, West 40th Street between Eighth and 11th Avenues and West 41st Street between Eighth and 10th Avenues. No matter where you are traveling this holiday weekend, plan ahead and budget extra time. We strongly recommend any fireworks attendees, Sail4th 250 viewers and football fans rely on public transit to get where they are going. Leave the car at home, pack sunscreen, stay hydrated and bring a book to make the most of your travel time.
Hundreds of thousands of people will take part in the festivities that we have planned for this weekend. As we show the world what our city is all about, we ask that New Yorkers look out both for one another, as well as for the tourists who may not be used to navigating our subway systems, our busy streets or this week of extreme heat. Call 311 if you see anyone who needs help and I want to express my gratitude to every city worker who has worked tirelessly to prepare for this celebratory period.
From the NYPD to NYCEM, CECM, DOHMH and so many others, thousands of New Yorkers are spending time away from family and friends so that they can serve our city this weekend. Thank you. Now, I would like to invite Commissioner Tisch to share additional specifics around road closures, viewing areas and anything else that New Yorkers need to know. Thank you very much.
Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch: Good afternoon. Thank you, Mayor Mamdani, our partners at the Coast Guard and the entire team from Macy's for all that you do to make this iconic event possible. Over the next several days, New York City will host the largest Independence Day celebration in our nation's history alongside Sail250, a major maritime operation bringing nearly a hundred vessels and roughly 27,000 sailors, crew members and dignitaries to our waterfronts. Our job at the NYPD, of course, is to keep it all safe.
Let's begin with Sail250. The largest ever fleet of the world's tall ships and military vessels are sailing into New York Harbor starting today and will stay until July 8, with two parades of sail taking place, one on July 3 on the East River and one on July 4 on the Hudson River. For these days, you can expect to see a large police presence along our waterfronts. There will be heavy weapons teams, K-9 units, and thousands of uniformed officers. Aviation, harbor and our counter-drone teams will also be deployed. And on top of all of this, there will be additional security measures that you will not see.
On July 3, 15 Class B tall ships from around the globe will sail from Hell Gate Bridge between Astoria and Randall’s Island, starting at 1 p.m. The ships will travel southbound down the East River to the South Street Seaport, where the parade will conclude by 3 p.m. on July 3. The vessels will then sail to Gravesend Bay for anchorage. Then, on the morning of July 4, the International Naval Review will run from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. The Parade of Sail will begin at approximately 9:30 a.m. at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and go until around 12:15 p.m. And the International Aerial Review will start at 10:15 a.m. and go until around 11:30 a.m. We expect the viewing of all the ships along the Hudson to conclude by around 2 p.m.
The Parade of Sail will include more than 40 tall ships from more than 20 nations, as well as over 30 naval vessels and nearly 200 aircraft. To facilitate viewing the parade along the Hudson River coastline on July 4, the West Side Highway may be subject to intermittent closures south of 59th Street. Vehicles should avoid the West Side Highway before 2 p.m. on July 4. But I want to be clear, even when open, there will be no commercial vehicle traffic allowed south of 59th Street on the West Side Highway on July 4. People coming to view the parade on the Fourth, whether at parks or piers or overflow public spaces and for both ticketed and non-ticketed events, will be subject to screening in Manhattan. For the best viewing south of 59th Street, designated screening locations will be at the West Side Highway at West 55th Street, West 44th Street and West 24th Street, and on West Street at West 11th Street, Christopher Street and Laight Street.
At these official screening points, everyone will go through magnetometers and have their bags checked. And as with every large-scale outdoor event, the following items will not be allowed past the checkpoints, so don't bring them: backpacks, coolers, lawn chairs, blankets, drones, alcohol, umbrellas or any item that could obstruct others' view or pose a safety risk. North of 59th Street, anyone entering Riverside Park during this time will be subject to search and a bag check as well.
Now, turning to our Independence Day celebrations on the evening of July 4. As it is every year, the centerpiece of our Independence Day celebrations will be the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks, now in its 50th year. This show will be the biggest ever, with hundreds of thousands of spectators, 85,000 firework shells, live music, a laser light show, hundreds of pyrotechnic staging points and more. This celebration has been 250 years in the making, and I want to thank everyone at the NYPD and all of our city, state and federal partners who will make that possible.
Here’s what New Yorkers need to know ahead of Saturday night’s celebration. To accommodate the installation of pyrotechnics on the Brooklyn Bridge, there will be intermittent vehicle lane and pedestrian walkway closures all week. And on the morning of July 4, the Brooklyn Bridge will close in both directions to vehicle and pedestrian traffic at around 8 a.m. and remain closed until the next day at 4 a.m. On July 4, the FDR Drive will be shut from East Houston to the Battery Park Underpass in both directions beginning at 3 p.m., with viewing areas opening, as the mayor said, at 6 p.m.
For people who wish to view the show from the elevated portion of the FDR Drive, the following entry points will be available: Montgomery Street and Madison Street; the Brooklyn Bridge on and off-ramps at Robert Wagner Place; and Broad Street at Water Street in Brooklyn. Initial closures around the waterfront viewing areas will begin at 1 p.m., but designated viewing areas are restricted to ticket holders only and entry instructions are included with those tickets. Additional event information will be available on Macy's Fourth of July website.
At all of these access points, bags will be checked and everyone will pass through magnetometers. And the same list of prohibited items that I read just before for Sail250 will apply for July 4 as well. Whether you will be watching the fireworks along the East River or celebrating on streets across the city, you will see thousands of our uniformed officers out in full force.
Streets around the viewing locations will be closed to vehicular traffic and parking will be extremely limited, so we urge everyone heading to the fireworks to take public transportation. Subway and bus routes will be operating on a normal Saturday schedule with crosstown bus lines south of 42nd Street not traveling east of 1st Avenue. Additionally, the Clark Street subway station in Brooklyn servicing the 2 and 3 lines will be closed during the entirety of the event from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., but every other station will remain open, and the MTA will be putting additional trains into service to help people get to and from the event.
We continue to operate in a heightened threat environment as we work to safeguard the events over the next several days on top of deployments for the FIFA World Cup. Conflicts overseas have resulted in a spate of terrorism and targeted violence around the world as well as attacks and attempted attacks here in the United States, but I want to emphasize there are no known specific or credible threats to this year's celebrations. Our Intelligence Division, our Joint Terrorism Task Force, and our counterterrorism teams continue to monitor every possible lead, both domestic and international, in real time — from lone wolf extremists to highly coordinated terror organizations and their proxies. Our deployment plan includes a robust counterterrorism overlay with explosive detection canines, bomb squad personnel, heavy weapons teams, CRC posts and plainclothes officers.
Overhead, our aviation unit and our drone teams will provide a real-time view of crowd conditions citywide, and our harbor unit will be patrolling our waterways. Throughout the event, a temporary flight restriction will be in place extending just over a mile from the center of the barges. Our drone detection teams will be working in close coordination with our federal partners to identify and to disrupt any illegal drone activity. Since June 13, the NYPD and our federal partners have mitigated 97 drones that have violated temporary flight restrictions around New York-New Jersey World Cup events, including games, fan zones and watch parties. Our drone mitigation operations will continue through July 4 and Sail250. So, the message is clear: if there is any illegal drone activity that violates our temporary flight restrictions, your drone will be seized.
As always, to everyone participating in the celebrations, please stay vigilant. If you see something suspicious or something that just doesn't feel right, don't keep it to yourself. Find an officer, call 911 or call our counterterrorism hotline at 1-888-NYC-SAFE. We follow through on every call because one call, one tip [and] one person can make all of the difference. As our nation turns to its first capital, New York City, to celebrate 250 years of independence, the eyes of the world will once again be on the men and women of the NYPD. They will be working 12-hour tours, spending yet another holiday away from their families to keep the rest of us safe. It is an exceedingly difficult, demanding, and dangerous job, and no one does it better. Thank you to them, and to everyone who has worked so hard to make this celebration possible.
And to all New Yorkers and visitors to our city, come out and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime event. Celebrate safely, and happy Fourth. Before I close, in a briefing about major events happening this weekend in New York City, I would be remiss not to mention an event that we are tracking at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The NYPD will, of course, have a detail in place, but I am not going to go into more specifics on that at this time.
I now introduce one of our great partners, Captain Andrechik, Commander of Coast Guard Sector New York.
Coast Guard Captain Jonathan Andrechik: Thank you, commissioner, and good morning. I am Captain John Andrechik, and I have the privilege of serving as the commander of Coast Guard Sector New York and the captain of the Port. I am honored to lead the nearly 1,000 active duty, reserve and civilian employees of the Coast Guard who live and serve here in the greater New York City area. To Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Tisch and our incredible partners at NYPD: thank you. The Coast Guard is proud to stand watch alongside you. First and foremost, let me say that we are honored to be part of this momentous celebration of our nation's 250th anniversary and our nation's rich maritime heritage, and we are ready.
Over the past two years, we have worked diligently with the Port community and more than 35 agencies at all levels of government — including the Mayor's Office, the NYPD, the FDNY and New York City Emergency Management — to prepare for this moment. Those agencies have now formed a unified command [that] will oversee the safety and security of these events. And over the past several days, hundreds of additional Coast Guard and Navy personnel and dozens of boats and aircraft have arrived from around the country to support our safety and security operations.
And as we begin those operations this week, our top priority is the safety and security of event participants and the public, while also ensuring that our maritime commerce and critical services that depend on our waterways continue to move safely. Thank you.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: Okay, I'll ask about the billionaire first. Should the billionaire be paying for the price of cops protecting the billionaire's event? And then secondly, on drones, for the police commissioner, what is the issue? Beyond hobbyist drones, what is it that you're so alarmed about with the 97 drone incursions you've seen?
Police Commissioner Tisch: For a number — or for many of the World Cup-related events, whether at the stadium in New Jersey or the fan zones or watch parties here in New York City, there have been temporary flight restrictions. So, any drones that operate in violation of the temporary flight restrictions are subject to seizure. And for the first time this year, and really as it pertains to [the] World Cup, Sail250 [and] July Fourth events. For now, the federal government has granted the New York City Police Department the ability to do drone mitigation with our own personnel and with our own equipment.
Now we work very closely with our local, state and federal partners on everything, but particularly on drone mitigation. And as part of those larger efforts, since the World Cup festivities began here on June 13, the group together has mitigated over 90 drones violating TFRs.
Question: Not too long ago, there was a terror plot trying to attack one of the Taylor Swift concerts in Europe. So, I just wanted to ask, this deployment that you mentioned, is that going to include heavy weapons teams, K9, ESU [or] bomb squad?
Police Commissioner Tisch: Our intelligence and counterterrorism division does assessments of events that happen across the city and certainly all major events that happen across the city. So, we will make sure that we have the appropriate resources based on their threat assessment for that specific private event, as we do for all major events that are occurring across the city.
Question: Following up on the drone question, have you seen any of the drones that you seized so far? Are there any technological capabilities or anything that has come up against where you all are with your technology in terms of mitigation, or has this been kind of standard off-the-shelf, hobbyist, people just not following the rules?
Rebecca Weiner, Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence and Counterterrorism, Police Department: It's the latter. And I think that, of course, underlines how many commercially available drones there are in the skies and how important it is that we have the capability to deal with them. Because as you know, it doesn't have to be special. It can just be a run-of-the-mill drone that can be altered in a way that would create harm to the public. So, this is a huge step forward, [a] great collaboration with federal partners under our task force doing drone mitigation.
Question: I'm going to respect Taylor Swift — not asking anything, but just overall, commissioner and mayor, we're going to have thousands and thousands of people out there for several events that we talked about. What message do you have for fans at the event, waiting outside, for New Yorkers waiting outside in the sweltering heat? What can they do to help the NYPD and law enforcement agencies protect themselves as you guys protect us?
Mayor Mamdani: First and foremost, to underline what you've said, which is that we are expecting incredibly hot temperatures. We are talking about a level of heat that this city has not seen in more than a decade. And what we ask New Yorkers to do is to be mindful of the danger that accompanies those temperatures. That means make sure that you stay hydrated, make sure that you're putting on sunscreen [and] make sure that you're taking as many breaks as possible from being outside, and if you can, to stay indoors and to stay in air conditioning. Now we know that for some New Yorkers, their air conditioning may not be up to par. They may be facing any issues with that. And for that, we've set up more than 200 cooling centers across the five boroughs. They're starting today through the weekend.
We also, for the first time in New York City history, will have COOL vans, which will be vans that will be able to transport New Yorkers to cooling centers, as well as vans that can provide any New Yorker in need with electrolytes, with water, even with meals, whether they be kosher, halal, vegetarian [or] whatever it may be needed. And beyond that, we are also looking to do everything we can to make it easier for New Yorkers to stay cool.
One of those things is that we have extended the hours of our New York City public pools to 8.30 p.m. We have ensured that anything that's possible, whether it's working with our Fire Department on the spray caps for fire hydrants across our city or it's also ensuring that for the first time we have misting stations for outdoor workers, we're taking all of these precautions.
I think, [from] what you heard from the commissioner, we are incredibly grateful to the men and the women of the NYPD, who are, at a time when so many New Yorkers are looking forward to spending that time with friends and family, going to be taking care of the friends and family of New Yorkers. And the way that New Yorkers can most respect that time is by taking as much care of themselves as possible so that everyone can focus on what will be a weekend that we will remember for generations.
This is not only the 50th anniversary of the Macy's fireworks, but also the 250th anniversary of our nation. And I know that so many, myself included, have been looking forward to this and for all of it to coincide also with the World Cup and with [Brazil] playing Norway on Sunday, so many events across the city. We're very excited, and I look at an NYPD here and a New York City government, and what I see is one that's fully prepared.
Question: I wanted to ask; how many police officers are going to be on duty for these events? Also, it seems like there's a lot of information for New Yorkers — we're only five days out; what type of educational, I guess, preparation is going out there? And I'm going to honor Taylor Swift, but you didn't mention Kamala Harris. So, I wanted to ask the mayor about your phone call to Kamala Harris. Can you talk about the nature of that? Did she mention the presidential race in 2028?
Mayor Mamdani: I have a lot of respect for the former vice president. I don't think that that relates to our preparations for this weekend. What I will say, though, is to your point around how we are going to inform New Yorkers; it's going to be not only through press conferences like these, but we are also using hundreds of LinkNYC kiosks for the first time in New York City history, providing New Yorkers with directions to a cooling center within 10 minutes of them.
We're also working with the MTA to ensure that there are regular announcements, as well as putting out any form of information we can across every form of media so that New Yorkers understand that this weekend is one that will be extraordinary, not just in terms of the events, but also in terms of the temperatures. I'm going to pass it over to Chief LiPetri.
Michael LiPetri, Chief of Department, Police Department: Just on the uniformed members. So, I'm not going to give specifics, but I will tell you this: like the mayor said [and] like the police commissioner said, we've been planning for this for two years. There will be every New York City police officer that's available, [who] will be working the long weekends; they will be out there, and they are going to make this the best July Fourth weekend there is. Thank you.
Question: My question is this to the commissioner: what are you going to be doing in terms of taking care of police officers who are going to be working in the heat? Are there any special precautions? And to the mayor, if I could, what are you going to be doing about the unhoused who are going to be dealing with the heat? Are you going to take any precautions, removing them from the streets if you think they're too hot? I know there's been concern about air conditioning and shelters. So, what [are the] specific actions? And can people be removed from the street?
Mayor Mamdani: So first and foremost, our number one emphasis is on safety. And in addition to the more than 200 cooling centers and the COOL vans, we are also increasing the number of outreach workers to 600 workers who will be working across the city. And what they will be doing is conducting direct outreach to homeless New Yorkers and any New Yorker in need.
Additionally, we are asking New Yorkers that if they see anyone who is vulnerable to the conditions and they are concerned about them, to call 311. Now, if they or someone they know are experiencing symptoms, whether it be nausea, dizziness, confusion [or] any signs of heat stroke, then they should call 911.
Question: Will you be removing them? Will outreach workers be able to remove them to a hospital or someplace where they can get help if it looks like they're experiencing those kinds of symptoms?
Mayor Mamdani: It's going to be the same determination as it is in state law, which is that if they are determined to be a danger to themselves or to others, then yes.
Question: And, commissioner, can you just talk about what precautions you're going to be taking for the police officers?
Chief LiPetri: So, actually, we just had a meeting with the bureau chiefs and the deputy commissioners this morning specifically about the weather, in also regards to the police officers. So obviously it's [to] hydrate, it's, you know, supervision, making sure that they're taking their personals and hydrating and things of that nature. But we are very much aware of also the dangers for the police officers being out there for a lot of hours on foot. Thank you.
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