Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, said on Thursday that there will be appropriate security at the Salute to Israel Parade, scheduled for Sunday, which he plans to skip despite a tradition set by his predecessors.
“We expect tens of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors to gather along Fifth Avenue for this event, and while I will not be attending, our administration has been preparing for weeks to ensure the parade is safe for all those who take part,” Mamdani said at a press conference at New York City Police Department headquarters.
“As the mayor of our city, I take seriously my responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of every New Yorker and every event, regardless of my attendance,” he said.
Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the NYPD who is Jewish, also spoke at the press conference.
“It’s the largest celebration of its kind outside of Israel, and for so many of us, it’s one of the most joyful days of the year,” she said. “But the sobering truth is it is also taking place in a heightened threat environment with multiple threat vectors active at the same time.”
“Since Oct. 7, 2023, we have seen an unacceptable rise in antisemitism and dozens of attacks across the United States, Canada and Europe targeting the Jewish community. That has only increased in the wake of the start of hostilities in Iran on Feb. 28,” Tisch said.
She noted that two weeks ago, a Kata’ib Hezbollah commander “connected to approximately 18 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and Canada in just the past few months alone was arrested for those attacks and for allegedly planning to target a synagogue in New York City.”
“In that threat environment, to be blunt, we are not messing around with security at this year’s parade,” Tisch told reporters. “The NYPD is one of the most robust municipal counterterrorism capabilities of any city in the world, and I am bringing all of that to bear for this year’s parade.”
“This Sunday, New Yorkers will see the most extensive security plan that the NYPD has ever put together for the Salute to Israel parade, including the largest number of officers ever assigned to that detail,” she said. “Included in that security plan will be the most heavy weapons teams ever, robust camera coverage of the area and comprehensive screening of everyone entering the parade route, including spectators, vendors, participants and the press.”
“If you think you are too important to be screened, don’t come,” she said. “There will be no exceptions.”
The NYPD will also screen and sweep “all assets deployed on the route, including vehicles and porta potties, according to Tisch.
“We will not tolerate any disruptions to the parade. Any unauthorized persons entering the parade route will be arrested,” she said. “The public should also expect to see counterterrorism teams, explosive detection canines, helicopters, drones, emergency service, mounted unit, hostile surveillance teams and other assets.”
Streets leading up to the parade route will have “hardened block NYPD vehicles and heavy sanitation trucks,” she said.
There will be designated screening entry points at East 61st, 63rd, 66th, 70th and 73rd Streets off Madison Avenue, and the entire west side of Central Park West, which borders Fifth Avenue, will be closed off to pedestrians and parade viewers, according to Tisch.
Historically, parade viewers lined both sides of the legendary Fifth Avenue, where the parade has been held annually since 1964.
“At this time there are no serious or credible threats against the parade,” Tisch said at the briefing.
Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council-New York, which organizes the annual show of pride that typically attracts more than 250,000 participants and spectators, also spoke at the press conference.
“We are expecting one of the biggest turnouts ever this Sunday at the Israel Day on Fifth Parade,” he said. “We are expecting sunny and 70-degree weather, baruch Hashem,” praise God, “and the Knicks are going to the NBA finals, all happening at the same time,” he said.
“We’re expecting tens of thousands of folks from New York, across the state, across the region, even folks from the tri-state region and beyond in celebration of our love and our story and our pride and our identity of who we are as a people,” Treyger said.
Liz Berney, director of research and special projects at the Zionist Organization of America, said during an online meeting about the parade’s history on Thursday that fewer people might show up for fear of a terror attack.
“I’m hearing this from other organizations marching in the parade—that they have people calling them” and canceling, Berney said. “It’s not what the parade should be.”
Mamdani has said that, breaking with decades-long custom from City Hall, he won’t march in the parade. Jule Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, who is Jewish, intends to be part of the parade, as do candidates in upcoming Democratic congressional primaries around the city scheduled for next month.
“It’s the mayor’s decision not to march, and it is my decision to march proudly,” Tisch told reporters.
A reporter asked Mandani if he will send someone to represent his administration in his absence. Tisch looked at Mamdani and pointed at herself and smiled.
“OK,” the reporter said, amid some laughter. “So that’s an answer.”
