If you drop it they will come — and that’s a problem for the NYPD.
A planned Times Square ball drop to celebrate America’s 250th birthday will come without “a public event” — but critics fear it’ll become a crowd-control nightmare for New York’s Finest because revelers will show up anyway.
“No effing way will the NYPD be a part of this,” one high-ranking cop told The Post of the planned event, which is set to be broadcast live.
“So, now the ball will fall and attract thousands of people and the NYPD will have to scramble and figure out a way to handle the crowd,” another law enforcement source said. “Never underestimate incompetence. In less than 100 days we went from the city of yes to the city of no.”
The planned New Year’s Eve-like ball drop in the Crossroads of the World is due to go off at midnight to ring in July 4 on the nation’s 250th anniversary. But organizer America250 announced earlier this month that it would move ahead with the ball drop without the “public.”
The announcement came after Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued an emergency order blocking large-scale events in the Big Apple between June 11 and July 19, while the FIFA World Cop comes to the five boroughs, putting a potential strain on the depleted police force.
The mayor’s office said the order came at the request of NYPD brass.
City Hall hasn’t answered questions about the July 4 ball drop, which has not received any permits for a gathering. It’s not clear if Mamdani’s order had a direct impact on the application process.
According to sources, City Hall also shot down a request from Macy’s to greatly expand its traditional July 4 fireworks display to light up the Hudson River waterfront from Liberty Island to 60th Street.
The problem is a ball drop in Times Square is going to attract a crowd — to say the least — without the usual crowd control and policing prep reserved for mass gatherings that have city permits.
“We’re still 6,000 cops short of peak staffing, with hundreds more leaving the job every month,” NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said last week. “Police officers are already burned out by the short-staffing they experience on a daily basis.
“When this summer’s massive workload hits, it’s going to push even more of them out the door.”
Cops will already have their hands full with the more than 1.2 million soccer fans who are expected to flock to the New York metropolitan area for the World Cup, the largest sporting event on the planet.
Officials at City Hall did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday and has repeatedly declined to comment on the Times Square ball drop and other cancelled events during the soccer matches.