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NYPD Got 77 Reports About Suspicious Packages After Boston Marathon Explosions
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 16, 2013
Modified Apr 16, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 16, 2013
Modified Apr 16, 2013
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Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly held a press conference this afternoon to discuss NYC's security in the wake of the fatal bombings in Boston. Kelly pointed out that the city was prepared and "There are no specific threats against New York City." He also revealed, "We anticipated that it would be an increase in reports of suspicious packages and indeed there was. We’ve had in the last 24-hour period 77 such reports. In a 24-hour period similar to this a year ago, we had 21 suspicious packages."
Indeed, there have been many reports, from ones at Laguardia Airport to all corners of the city (Ditmas Park, the Upper West Side). Kelly emphasized that the NYPD had increased bomb squad resources, telling reporters, "The public was doing what we asked them to do, if you see something suspicious to give us a call—see something, say something, and that’s precisely what we wanted."
Security around the city has been increased, with subway bag checks back in full swing at many major subway station. As for the situation in Boston, Kelly said, "We are certainly engaged in the information flow with the FBI through our Joint Terrorism Task Force. We have two New York City police officers, police sergeants, who are in the Boston Regional Intelligence Center. They’re up there, they’ve been up there since last evening."
Bloomberg, a Massachusetts native, called the bombings "truly awful" and pledged to help Boston, "We don’t yet know much about the motives or the perpetrators behind the bombings in Boston, but we do know that this was an act of terror, and that terrorism remains a serious threat in our country. And that’s especially true here in New York City." After touting NYC's counterterrorism initiatives, from the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative to the NYPD-Microsoft Domain Awareness program, Bloomberg demanded that D.C. "allocate Homeland Security funding based on risk—not pork-barrel politics."
The mayor concluded, "I’ve directed all flags at City government buildings fly at half-staff in memory of those killed in Boston. In addition, we’re also flying the flag of the City of Boston at half-staff here at City Hall, and we’re displaying it inside City Hall as well as you can see. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends in Boston, as all Americans do."
Tagged
boston marathon
boston marathon explosions
mayor bloomberg
nypd
security
terror
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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