Transcript Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner O'Neill Discuss Election Day Security Preparations

November 7, 2016

Video available at: http://youtu.be/3NU-rasiHJw

Police Commissioner James O’Neill: Good morning, everyone. Thanks for being here. Tomorrow, Election Day in New York City, brings with it a very unique set of challenges. For the first time in modern memory, both major party candidates for president will monitor the results here in New York and hold election night parties in Midtown Manhattan. So, in addition to securing the over 1,000 polling sites around the five boroughs all day, we also have two large venues, the Jacob Javits Center and the New York Hilton Hotel to safeguard as well.

The NYPD has a great working relationship with the United States Secret Service. It used to be Bob Sica, now it is Dave Beach and Dave is going to speak. And together, we have been planning how to best protect these sites and the people inside, while minimizing the impact on New Yorkers and the vehicular and pedestrian traffic outside. There are many ways we will be keeping you safe. There will be much the public will see and much the public will not see. In a few moments, Carlos Gomez, our Chief of Department, will provide an overview of some of the resources that will be deployed and will update you on what to expect in terms of street closures.

I’d like to have our Counterterrorism Chief Jim Waters speak to that aspect of our planning. Tomorrow, I want everyone to remember, of course, that public safety is a shared responsibility. If anyone sees something tomorrow that doesn’t look right or doesn’t feel right, let one of our officers know about it. There will be no shortage of uniformed cops around to tell – or call 9-1-1. Remember, that is what we are here for. We are here to keep people safe.

I’ll finish up with this, before turning it over to Mayor de Blasio, planning for security events like this is a big part of what we do. You recall that just one year ago we faced perhaps the largest security challenge the NYPD and this City ever had to deal with when Pope Francis visited New York City during the United Nations General Assembly while President Obama and 90 percent of the world’s leaders were here at the same time. So this is nothing new to us. So this kind of preparation is nothing new also for the men and women of this great police department.

Mr. Mayor?

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you very much. Thank you, Commissioner. I want to start by saying that the men and women of the NYPD are doing an extraordinary job as we prepare for this unprecedented day tomorrow. And evidence of that is already clear from the way that the marathon was handled yesterday – an extraordinary example of what the NYPD and all the City agencies are able to do together. The marathon came off very safely and without a hitch, so I commend you Commissioner and all the men and women that you lead.

I also want to say it is a tough time for our police officers. They are feeling deeply the loss on Friday of Sergeant Paul Tuozzolo. And I have talked to a number of officers in the last few days and offered my condolences to them. And one thing is clear – is that people are feeling this deeply. And they honor their fallen comrade and the heroic act that he took to save the lives of so many others. I’d like to ask for a moment of silence for Sergeant Paul Tuozzolo.

[Moment of silence]

Thank you.

The resolve of the NYPD and of everyone who works for the City of New York is quite clear in this moment. We told you a few days ago that we expected that there would be a level of vigilance starting on Sunday, continuing through today, and into tomorrow that would lead to extraordinary presence of NYPD officers at key sites around the city, and obviously an extraordinary effort on Election Day itself. Everyone is focused; everyone is resolved in carrying out that mission. And we know that the eyes of the world will be on New York City. We have an obligation, not only to the people of this city, but to this country to make sure that tomorrow, all through the day, and particularly tomorrow night, goes smoothly and goes well. So we have extraordinary resources in place to do that and we’ll be working very closely with our federal partners.

I want to be clear at the outset – New York City will never be intimidated – never by threats of terror, nor by anyone who wants to do anything to disrupt our electoral process. We’re focused on the big stage tomorrow night, but we’re also focused on our poll sites all over the city during the day. We will not allow any form of voter intimidation. NYPD is ready to step in if we see any evidence of that occurring.

Now, I want to thank, in addition to Commissioner O’Neill, and the other members of the NYPD that you will be hearing from in a moment. I want to thank our First Deputy Commissioner Ben Tucker; our Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism, John Miller – all of the NYPD leadership present. I particularly want to thank the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office for the Secret Service, David Beach, for your partnership and your work together as we prepare for this extraordinary day. And my colleagues in elective office –Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and State Senator Brad Hoylman – thank you for your support.

Let me note that tomorrow it takes on a very special significance. It has been a tough election year. We all know this. It’s been in many ways a challenging and painful year. It’s strained our democracy, but tomorrow is the day when we get to make it right when the democratic process comes alive and the people choose. It is our sacred obligation to protect that process; to make sure that democracy unfolds as it is meant to be. The NYPD not only has all of its traditional extraordinary resources, but as you know over the last year or two, we have added tremendous anti-terrorism capacity, particularly the 500-plus member Critical Response Command, the Strategic Response Group as well playing a crucial role. We have beefed up our ability to handle multiple sites simultaneously. And I agree with the Commissioner’s analysis. Last year, with the Pope, and 170 world leaders in town at the – all at the same time plus the president of the United States – that showed the range and the ability of the NYPD. And you’re going to see it again today and tomorrow. We’ve also deepened over the last few years the partnership with the federal agencies, and that has allowed for a much more seamless flow of information and much greater partnership. You saw that in the aftermath of the Chelsea bombing. So, a lot is changing to help us cover more ground and keep people safer.

And again, we have an obligation to protect the voting process, so you will see, of course, NYPD officers at every poll site around the city. And if we see any evidence of voter intimidation, we have the ability to reinforce those sites quickly and make sure that any pattern of intimidation is snuffed out immediately.

Bottom-line for all New Yorkers is – expect to see a lot of NYPD presence today and tomorrow. Know that you are safe and well-protected. You will see the presence at key locations around the City. You’ll see it in the subways; you’ll see it around the locations where the election celebrations will be happening. But we all depend on the people of this city. The phrase – if you see something, say something – is a very specific idea; it’s not just words; it means we’re all responsible; it means we all have to help the NYPD. So, I remind people to keep those words in mind over these next few days.

We are a society that honors democracy, that honors freedom, that honors inclusivity. We’re a society that believes that people of all backgrounds can actually work together. We’re going to prove it over the next 24 hours here in New York City.

Just a few words in Spanish.

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish.]

With that, I’d like to introduce our Chief of Department Carlos Gomez.

Chief of Department Carlos Gomez, NYPD: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Commissioner O’Neill. And good morning. In preparation for tomorrow’s presidential election, the NYPD has developed a very comprehensive security plan. Well over 5,000 uniform officers will be assigned to election duty – various types of election duty throughout the day as well as the evening to ensure all New Yorkers are safe, secure, and that the process is orderly. This is by far the largest election detail that the NYPD has ever had. It is more than double our previous high. And it is comparable to the detail size that we have here on New Year’s Eve and last year when Pope Francis visited. The Department’s situation room and the Joint Operations Center at One Police Plaza will be activated. It will be staffed with representatives from over 50 city, state, and federal agencies that will coordinate operations throughout the day. There are almost 4.5 million registered voters in New York City, and we certainly anticipate a large turnout tomorrow.

As the Commissioner said, we have over 1,200 polling sites throughout the city. Most of these are situated inside public schools, and I believe those schools are closed to students tomorrow. They are also located in close to 100 New York City Housing Authority facilities as well as other locations. As you are aware, the polls open at 6:00 in the morning, and they close at 9:00 in the evening. Uniformed police officers will be assigned to each of these polling sites. Should any election-related issues arise, such as electioneering, these officers will have available to them staff from the Board of Elections as well as supervisors – NYPD supervisors that have received instruction in Election Day protocols, and certainly we have attorneys from the Legal Bureau available to assist them.

Our Counterterrorism Bureau will be out in full force. You will see heavy weapons teams from our Critical Response Command and they are situated behind me – a few blocks away. They’ll be deployed to various locations throughout the city. We will also deploy additional heavy weapons teams. These will be comprised of officers from the elite Emergency Services Unit, as well as from the Strategic Response Group. They will be posted at fixed locations, but they will also have a mobile capacity, and they will be able to respond to any situations that arise here in Manhattan as well as the outer boroughs. We will be deploying all of our explosive-detecting K-9s. Civilian-attired officers that are trained in detecting suspicious activity will be deployed throughout the day. Hundreds of police officers will be assigned to mobile field forces ready to respond quickly to any disruption or any demonstrations that may arise. The Transit Bureau, under Chief Fox, will have additional officers assigned. They will be working – we’ll see more officers riding the trains and there will be more bag checks, more comprehensive bag checks, when you enter our system. Certainly, we will have traffic agents, hundreds of them, performing traffic control duties.

This is the first time in over seven years that both presidential candidates will be in New York City on election night. In response to that, the NYPD and the Secret Service have jointly prepared security plans for several venues and they’ll go into that in a little while.

I would like to make note of some street closures that will affect New Yorkers tomorrow – today and tomorrow. Beginning later this afternoon, there will limited access on 11th Avenue, between 34th Street and 40th Street. We will try to maintain 34th Street open as long as we can. But certainly early tomorrow morning, 34th Street is subject to a full street closure, as well as 11th Avenue, between 34th Street and 40th Street. The Hilton Hotel will see a full street closure on West 53rd and West 54th Street, Sixth to Seventh Avenue. The Peninsula Hotel will also see full street closures tomorrow beginning at midday from 55th Street, and from Fifth to Sixth Avenue. The Trump Towers, beginning tomorrow morning at 6:00, will also see full street closures. And we’ll do that as long as Donald Trump is in the Tower. When he goes out, we’ll try to open traffic as best we can.

Additionally, we’ll be implementing truck restrictions commencing tomorrow at 6:00 in the morning. Any trucks in these streets that I will mention will be diverted off. Those streets will be Fifth Avenue, between 54th to 59th Street, 57th Street, Madison to Sixth, and Sixth Avenue from 42nd to 54th Street.

And I’d like to close in reiterating what the Commissioner and the Mayor said – 8.5 million New Yorkers – that’s a lot of eyes and ears out there. If you see something, if you hear something –certainly report it, you call 9-1-1, or you call the terror hotline – 8-8-8-NYC-SAFE.

A lot of planning, a lot of resources. We look to having a successful and safe day tomorrow.

Thank you.

Commissioner O’Neill: Thanks, Carlos. I’d like to acknowledge and thank member of Congress Carolyn Maloney for being here this morning – thank you.

Now, I’d like to introduce Dave Beach. He’s the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Secret Service Office.

Dave.

Special Agent in Charge David Beach, New York Field Office, United States Secret Service: Thanks, Commissioner. Good morning.

First and foremost, I would like to offer my condolences to the Mayor, the Commissioner, and the NYPD for the loss of Sergeant Tuozzolo on Friday. I would ask that you keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Also, we wish a speedy and full recovery to Sergeant Kwo and his injuries.

Regarding tomorrow – the Secret Service has had a long-standing relationship with the NYPD in this city, and we’ve done a number of events as you’ve heard already. As you’ve heard from the Mayor, the Commissioner, and the Chief, we have a very robust plan in place to secure the two events that the Secret Service will be involved in. That collaboration, again, goes back many, many years, and we’re grateful for that. That relationship continues to improve and get stronger. And tomorrow, we’re very confident that both events will go off without a hitch.

Thank you.

Commissioner O’Neill: Thanks, Dave. And now, I’d like to introduce our Chief of Counterterrorism Jim Waters.

Jim.

Chief of Counterterrorism James Waters, NYPD: Thank you, Commissioner. What I’d like to begin with is the threat and understanding the threat. The threat is what we deploy against each and every day. It’s what drives our counterterrorism and intelligence programs.

So, first, as you all reported on recently, is the threat by Al Qaeda. It lacks specificity. And currently, the credibility in the sourcing of that information is under investigation and ongoing, with no new information since last week.

Over the weekend, ISIL came out and called on individuals to attack voters in the United States in an attempt to disrupt the election process here in this country. We are well prepared to deal with any situation like that.

Also, I’d like to tell you that we review intelligence and threat information every day. So I, as well as everyone up here, are not surprised by this type of information coming out shortly before Election Day. It’s something that we are well aware of. We understand that we are the threat here in New York City, and we plan, train, and we execute verse that threat each and every day.

Our CRC, as Chief Gomez mentioned, was not here last year. Okay. We have more than tripled our capacity and our capability to protect New York City with 525 CRC people – Critical Response Command – as well as 800 Strategic Response Group personnel. Long gun trained, counterterrorism trained, and well-prepared to face any threat coming toward us or any danger that comes to New York City.

Thank you.

Unknown: We have some time for some on-topic questions. I would ask if you have questions, please speak up, all right?

Question: Staten Island is the most politically divided and it’s also the most remote borough in the city. So, I was wondering if you talk a little bit about specifically what you’re going to have in place on Staten Island, especially given that there have already been a few incidents – a Trump sign was burned over the summer. What’s going to be done to make sure stuff like that doesn’t happen tomorrow?

Commissioner O’Neill: All right, so, the question is what we’re going to do on Staten Island? Of course, we’re going to cover all the polling sites of Staten Island and all the precincts will be fully manned, and we’ll also have the SRG component out there too. So, you’ll see additional uniforms out in Staten Island.

Question: Commissioner, I wonder if you could tell us what the security would look and feel like to the average New Yorker. What can they expect to see? What can they expect to feel? And your comments about whether the threat [inaudible] over the last few days –

Commissioner O’Neill: I got the first part of your question. You’re going to have to repeat the second part. So, what is the security picture going to look like to the average New Yorker? You’re going to see a lot of police. You’re going to see a lot of uniforms. They’re going to see a lot of marked cars. You’ll see at each and every one of these venues, there’ll be an additional detail. So, there’s going to be a lot of police in New York City.

And some of it you won’t see. We’ll have other details out there in plain clothes too.

Question: The other question –

Commissioner O’Neill: You got to speak up.

Question: Second part of my question is this – given the threat assessment that you got last week and the new threat from ISIS to try to, you know, go after voters, how are you dealing with it and how credible is it?

Commissioner O’Neill: All right, John Miller – this is the threat from ISIS – John Miller will talk about that.

Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence & Counterterrorism John Miller, NYPD: All right, who actually heard the question?

[Laughter]

Mayor: The question is how credible is the threat from ISIS and what are we doing to address it?

Deputy Commissioner Miller: ISIS puts out these threats widely over their social media before many events. We’ve seen them before holidays. We’ve seen them before special events. This is part of their m.o. We take all threats seriously but we wouldn’t be doing anything differently in that the deployment that’s been described is basically an all-out posture both for public safety, traffic, as well as counterterrorism.

So, as Jim said, you’re going to see what has become part of the normal for New York City which is radiation detection, explosive detection, K-9s, rapid response teams with tactical equipment. As the Commissioner said, a lot of it you won’t see, which is our counter-surveillance people, who are looking for suspicious activity in plain clothes.

So, Marcia, I would say we’ve come to a place where we take these things in stride and almost expect them.

Question: Commissioner, beside the terror component, it’s been a rather ugly and at times violent election season. How is that informing your posture and are you worried that since both campaigns will be here that all of that element [inaudible] or converge in the city?

Commissioner O’Neill: You know, it’s – NYPD’s got such a long history of dealing with events like this. So, I think to make sure we just not only put out the right number of people but at the right venues. I think we’re in good shape tomorrow. We’re going to do, like I said before, the uniforms that you see, the RMPs that you see, the cars that you see – there’s going to be cops covering Midtown. You’ll see them on every block.

So, New Yorkers should feel good about tomorrow – that they’re going to be in safe hands.

Mayor: Let me just add to that – that the – two points. We’ve got – that’s a great question because we got two things going at once here – the fact that both presidential campaigns are having their events in New York City – I think Carlos said, for the first time in 70 – over 70 years. That’s one.

And then you’re right – the second – that this campaign has generated particular passion and concern. I participated in a lot of the preparation process over the last few weeks. And I want to affirm – NYPD has taken into account the historic nature of this night and obviously the unusual nature of this election as well, and is really prepared with tremendous force levels at the right locations. So, I think – we’re not going to be surprised if there is any kind of demonstration. That has already been accounted for. And by the way, there are tremendous NYPD resources in place and they can be kept in place as we go later into the evening. If this election, for example, drags on well into the evening, the Commissioner is in the position to keep officers on duty rather than sending them home. So, we’ll have extraordinary strength levels available if needed.

Question: Commissioner, how quickly can you move around officers if something erupts in a place – one of the locations – you’re not expecting? And are you working that intelligence with the federal law enforcement agencies?

Commissioner O’Neill: Yes, we do – working with our federal law enforcement partners, it is not only the Secret Service, it is the FBI. We have a terrific relationship with all them. I speak about Bill Sweeney all the time. As far as moving around in Midtown, there will be safety lanes, so, we’ll be able to move from venue to venue if we need to deploy additional resources. So, that’s not going to be a huge issue for us. And that is actually something – everyday in Midtown Manhattan you see traffic. So, we know how to get around.

Question: [Inaudible] for the Los Angeles Times, there is a report that the Clinton campaign has prepared fireworks on the Hudson River. Does that create an added complication? Are you working with New Jersey? And there are also reports that NYPD and the Fire Department did not approve.

Commissioner O’Neill: Yes, Tommy – Tommy Galati.

Chief of Intelligence Thomas Galati, NYPD: Yes, the – they do have a permit for fireworks, but at this point we believe the fireworks is canceled. And they were issued a permit, so there was no issue as far as –

Question: [Inaudible]

Chief Galati: That’s – I could not tell you that.

Question: How many police officers will be out tomorrow? Will you give us any sense of the numbers?

Commissioner O’Neill: Chief Gomez mentioned over 5,000. We are not going to give you the specific number, but it’s going to be thousands.

Question: How much is this costing the City? Is there a significant overtime cost for the NYPD?

Commissioner O’Neill: We’re doing a lot of this on straight time. There will be some overtime. I can’t give you a specific number right now.

Question: Given some of the heated rhetoric of this campaign – is there any concern about domestic terror threats? Have there been any credible threats as far as that goes?

Commissioner O’Neill: No, we’re constantly monitoring the threat stream. That’s what – as Chief Waters said. So, as of this time – nothing specific, nothing credible.

Question: [Inaudible]

Commissioner O’Neill: It’s going to be a tremendous impact on traffic in New York City tomorrow. So if you don’t need to drive, I’d suggest taking public transportation.

Question: What do you expect as far as protests and do you have anything specifically [inaudible]?

Commissioner O’Neill: We have a history in the NYPD on dealing with large, large venues – large events – so we do have enough reserve officers on-duty in case anything does pop up.

Question: [Inaudible]

Commissioner O’Neill: Okay.

Mayor: Let me just jump in and say I want everyone to remind – remember the timeline here. Yes, there is going to be an impact on traffic throughout the day, but that’s more so later in the day than earlier. I want to emphasize that. Remember, I believe last time, 2012 election – President Obama gave his victory speech after 1:00 a.m. Eastern Time. We don’t know what the exact timing will be in this case of whoever wins and how it is going to go. But we can safely say – a lot of activity is at the end of rush hour and then later into the evening. So, particularly emphasize that as the day goes on, you will see more congestion, you’ll see more lane closures, you’ll see more police activity. In terms of protest, one of the reasons we are here is we are not at all surprised at the notion whatever happens – that here in Times Square we might see protest in the evening, or celebrations, or whatever it might be. So, clearly, we will be watching Times Square as the evening progresses. And it is a place the NYPD is immediately ready to reinforce.

Question: [Inaudible] to be Commissioner and at this historic time when we have both presidential candidates here [inaudible]

Commissioner O’Neill: I feel real good about it. I’m very proud of this position. I’m very proud of the men and women of this great police department. I’m very proud of all the people in New York City. You know, I came on this job to keep people safe. And when I took my oath, I raised my right hand – that’s what I vowed to do. So, I feel great about it.

Question: [Inaudible] what is being done on the cyber security front, in terms of potential [inaudible]?

Commissioner O’Neill: John – cyber security.

Deputy Commissioner Miller: Working with DoITT – the City’s IT overarching agency – as well as with the FBI and their cyber team, as well as with the NYPD and our cyber people, we have done a survey of the key systems that would affect the City’s ability to respond in emergency [inaudible], as well as systems that have to do with moving information around the election. And we’re very confident that we’re in a good position to declare those systems operating properly, free of any intrusions, and our ability to monitor those things. And again, I’m borrowing Commissioner Anne Roest’s subject here as the top IT person for the City, but we’ve been involved in that with them and everything is in place, working fine, but also being monitored closely.

Question: Commissioner, and other NYPD officials here – you guys are going to be really busy tomorrow. I’m just curious – are you planning to go and vote yourselves?

Commissioner O’Neill: Of course, that’s our civic duty.

[Laughter]

Mayor: That was easy.