New York steps up security amid credible threat

Reuters: New York City is operating under heightened security because of a credible but uncorroborated threat ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday, urging city residents to go about their business as usual.

“The NYPD (police department) is deploying additional resources around the city and taking additional steps to keep our city safe, some of which you may notice and some of which you will not notice,” Bloomberg said at a news conference.

“But there’s no reason for any of the rest of us to change anything in our daily routine,” he said.

“Just for the record, I plan to take the subway tomorrow morning and feel just as safe as when I took it this morning,” Bloomberg added.

Bloomberg said that though the threat had not been corroborated, it was credible and that law enforcement was taking it seriously and residents should report anything that appears suspicious.

The mayor and other officials declined to comment on specifics of the threat.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who joined Bloomberg at the news conference, said the increased security would be focused on tunnels, bridges and infrastructure in general, as well as landmark locations, houses of worship and government buildings.

There would also be more bag inspections on the subway system, more bomb-sniffing dogs on patrol and increased deployment of radiation monitoring equipment, Kelly said.

The White House said President Barack Obama was briefed on specific threat earlier in the day, and noted that the U.S. government had already stepped up security ahead of the Sept. 11, 2001 anniversary.

Bloomberg told the news conferences that New York’s Sept. 11 memorial observances would go on as planned over the weekend. “For 10 years we have not allowed terrorists to intimidate us, we have lived our lives without fear and we will continue to do so,” he said. “So go about your business as you normally would, just be vigilant.”