As the US Open got underway Monday, the NYPD beefed up security in and around Queens’ Arthur Ashe Stadium amidst recent acts of terror around the world.
NYPD Police Commissioner Edward Caban made clear on Aug. 26 that the US Open is not facing any specific or credible threats against its security. Nevertheless, New York’s Finest is bolstering police presence at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center over the next two weeks, and along public transit lines leading to the complex.
Some one million fans are expected to attend the tennis games between now and the men’s final scheduled for Sept. 8. Thousands of guests will be arriving by the Big Apple’s mass transit system, with the 7 line and the Long Island Rail Road being the primary lines leading to the tennis center.
NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said cops will continue to be surged in the subway system to help keep the additional riders safe.
“Our riders are going to see an increased uniformed presence. That uniform presence is going to be supplemented — I think it’s very important that people understand this,” Chief Kemper told amNewYork Metro. “There is going to be plainclothes officers also working the trains on the trains, the platforms, the mezzanines. We’re going to have canine officers, we’re going to be leveraging technology, specifically drones over the elevated lines. And again, the takeaway is that the transit system will be heavily policed.”
Caban added that these extra steps will be stretched along the train lines to around the tennis center. Armed cops will be patrolling the perimeter while other drone units will use technology to scour the massive crowds.
“As you walk those grounds, there’ll be security measures that you’ll see and others that you won’t see. We will have increased police presence, both inside and outside the complex, including uniform foot posts, screening checkpoints,” Caban said. “We will have our drones deployed, as well as Aviation, Harbor, Counterterrorism Bureau, Canine, Transit, and other specialty units. And of course, we’ll have our eyes and ears of the public.”
This heightened security comes hot on the heels of the ISIS terrorist attack in Germany that left three dead and eight injured in a stabbing spree. Not only that, police say they are also expecting to contend with protesters which have been occurring on a near-daily basis since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by the terrorist group Hamas on Israel.
“There’s a lot of turmoil overseas. There’s a lot of things happening around the world. Here in New York City has had the effect of protest ever since Oct. 7, everyday protests, and we expect that,” said Deputy Chief James Kehoe.
