NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The NYPD is on a “wait and see” mode for New Year’s Eve in Times Square and is planning for “multiple contingencies,” according to Commissioner Dermot Shea.
In an interview with NY1 Tuesday morning, Shea said that the pandemic may cause the iconic celebration to be scaled back, and the department will be ready if such a call is made.
“This is obviously the pandemic that won’t go away. I mean, we’re feeling it within the NYPD, as all of New York City is,” the commissioner said. “So, we’re gonna be in constant contact with City Hall.”
“We’re planning, right now, for multiple contingencies,” he added. “If we have to scale back, we’re not starting from scratch, scaling back.”
He said the department will be “ready to go” for any New Year’s Eve celebration that the city decides is appropriate, given the spike in COVID-19 cases, driven heavily by the omicron variant.
While Mayor Bill de Blasio in November promised that the city’s annual tradition would be back at “full strength” for vaccinated attendees, on Sunday, he said protocols for the Times Square celebration would be revealed by the end of the week.
“We’re going to make a decision before Christmas,” the mayor said.
He noted that the city is facing “new challenges” but added that New Year's Eve may be able continue as normal, given that it is an all-vaccinated event outdoors.
Still, all options are on the table, de Blasio said.
“We’re also considering there’s other ways we can approach it even with current rules that could help to make it even stronger,” the mayor said.
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