The NYPD is drastically beefing up patrols around Jewish institutions across the five boroughs over the next day in response to the ongoing war in Iran, officials said Monday.
The police department is adding hundreds of cops to watch over various Jewish centers and neighborhoods on top of the typical patrols in those areas, according to authorities.
The extra security will last at least the next 24 hours through the end of the Jewish holiday Purim and also follows the deadly mass shooting in Austin that investigators are probing as a terror-related attack.
The NYPD will tap into resources from counterterrorism and other specialized teams to help with that effort, the department said.
“The NYPD continues to closely monitor the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East. Following the mass shooting in Austin, Texas, and as Jewish communities celebrate Purim, we will maintain enhanced high-visibility patrols to sensitive locations citywide,” the department said in a tweet earlier Monday.
“This is due to the heightened threat environment and out of an abundance of caution.”
Since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, the NYPD said it has been increasing police presence at various spots in the city.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a PIX 11 interview Monday that he is in regular contact with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Office of Emergency Management leaders over the added security.
“And we made the decision to not only increase agency coordination in light of what’s been happening, but also to increase patrols of sensitive locations and all of this is out of abundance of caution, but we want to make sure we’re taking every measure we can to not just keep New Yorkers safe, but to also reassure them,” Mamdani said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul also said Monday she was working to increase patrols around Jewish and Muslim houses of worship.
“We will not tolerate any hate or retaliation against anyone who calls New York home because of what’s happening now,” she said.
