The NYPD says it’s deploying additional police and cameras to houses of worship and other sensitive locations during the Jewish High Holy Days, which begin on Wednesday night.
Heightened security measures will remain in place through the 10-day holiday period beginning with Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday evening and ending with Yom Kippur — a timespan that includes the first anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel last Oct. 7. Mayor Eric Adams said during a press briefing on Wednesday that the NYPD was working with law enforcement at state and federal levels as well.
“There will be many protections that you will see, and there will be many that you will not see,” he said. “We will have an omnipresence and a real, visible presence of uniform personnel. We’re deploying additional cameras to sensitive locations that will complement the 80,000 cameras in the NYPD Domain Awareness system, and we will ensure a swift response to any act of violence and any call for service.”
The Domain Awareness system is the city’s digital surveillance network of thousands of cameras and other sensors, such as license plate readers.
There will be enhanced patrols at houses of worship of all faiths, including Jewish synagogues, citywide, NYPD Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner said. She said those would include heavily armed critical-response command officers.
“So for any of you who may feel uneasy based on what you’re seeing around the world, let me just remind you that we do this every day,” said Weiner. “We’ve been doing this for the past two decades and with real sustained intensity over the past year, and just days ago, we completed a highly successful deployment during the U.N. General Assembly.”
The NYPD’s CompStat data reporting system reflects a 16% increase in reported hate crimes so far this year, compared to the same point last year, though city officials on Wednesday described a 29% increase. The NYPD hasn’t yet returned a message seeking to clarify the apparent disparity.
Adams said the city was experiencing an increase in incidents driven by Islamophobia as well as antisemitism, “and so while we’re going to ensure the safety of our Jewish constituents here in the city, we have an obligation to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers, and there’s no room for hate.”
Weiner said K9 teams will sweep sensitive locations every day, and aviation teams will be increasing patrols. Members of the NYPD Intelligence Division and the Joint Terrorism Task Forces will also be monitoring leads online and offline, she said.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said the additional cameras are being deployed to around 50 “key locations” across the city during the holiday season.
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side, said that while the increased security measures have been helpful, the congregation has needed to up its own security over the last year in order to feel safe enough.
“Since Oct. 7, we’ve had to double our security budget and we have far more guards,” he said. “It amounts to an antisemitism tax because we have to pay for the additional security out of our pocket. The NYPD provides additional security, but that’s not enough to make our congregation feel safe. They want thorough security that they can see all the time.”
Officials said they’re expecting protests to take place on Oct. 7.
“Remember the NYPD will not tolerate violence, property damage or anything that impedes emergency services to help people in need,” NYPD Interim Commissioner Thomas Donlon said. “Hate in any form has no place in our city, and our offices will respond accordingly.”