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Celebration Security
Aired December 31, 2002 - 13:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Better safe than sorry, says New York's mayor, so there will be snipers on the rooftops, police dogs in the subways, and restricted skies overhead. A half-million people are expected to turn out for the New Year's bash in Times Square, and that's where we find our Maria Hinojosa live.
Hi, Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. How are you doing?
Well, I've got to say, we've been here since 6:00 in the morning. There were a few revelers, but really, the mood is up right now. You are starting to see people with hats on. But I'm going to take you across the street, because you'll be able to get a sense of exactly what's been happening in Times Square.
Lots of police barricades, because these barricades will be moved out into the middle of the street actually at about 4:00 in the afternoon. The people who come into these barricades will be searched. They will not be allowed to have any kind of bags or backpacks with them, and once then they get into the barricaded area, they won't be able to move.
Now, for New Yorkers, they might be able to know what's missing from a street corner like this. In an area like this, you probably would have had a mailbox, a newspaper vending bill, probably some garbage cans. Those have all been taken away as part of the precautions. Also, manhole covers have been ceiled shut, and lots of police activity.
We're expecting about half a million people out in this general area. The police presence, that's according to what the police commissioner told us, will be similar to what they saw last year, but almost every single elite unit in the police department will be in action. We're talking about the harbor unit, antiterrorism unit, bomb squads, the mounted police, anti-snipers on planes. Heavy weaponry units, including the Herculean, and the Archangel task force, and a bioterrorism task force, as well, rapid response.
So they are -- what the police commissioner said, they have did are done everything they possibly they can do to be prepared for tonight, and they he just said, everybody's expecting to have a good party tonight. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: That party. Tell us about the festivities. HINOJOSA: I haven't had a chance to talk about the festivities, but hey that's what people come down for. For the first time tonight, you will have some special guests. Christopher Reeves and his wife will be down here, symbols of New Yorkers who symbolize hope and courage, and the other big thing that they're going to do tonight is that they're going to literally be ringing in the new year. I don't know if you can hear this a little bit, but they will give out 50,000 of these little ring bracelets that you slap on your wrist, and what they want to do is they want to break the world record of synchronized bell ringing. The world record was set in the year 2000 in Gudansk (ph), Poland with 10,000. They want to break that tonight with having 50,000 bell ringers.
And Anita ward will be here to sing here her famous '70s, hit, "Ring My Bell." So that's for the partyers. One thing people should know, once you get in the barricade, if you're coming down here, don't plan on leaving because, you won't be able to get out.
PHILLIPS: It sounds like fun. You wouldn't want to get out.
Maria Hinojosa, save me a bracelet, all right?
HINOJOSA: All right, got it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 31, 2002 - 13:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Better safe than sorry, says New York's mayor, so there will be snipers on the rooftops, police dogs in the subways, and restricted skies overhead. A half-million people are expected to turn out for the New Year's bash in Times Square, and that's where we find our Maria Hinojosa live.
Hi, Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. How are you doing?
Well, I've got to say, we've been here since 6:00 in the morning. There were a few revelers, but really, the mood is up right now. You are starting to see people with hats on. But I'm going to take you across the street, because you'll be able to get a sense of exactly what's been happening in Times Square.
Lots of police barricades, because these barricades will be moved out into the middle of the street actually at about 4:00 in the afternoon. The people who come into these barricades will be searched. They will not be allowed to have any kind of bags or backpacks with them, and once then they get into the barricaded area, they won't be able to move.
Now, for New Yorkers, they might be able to know what's missing from a street corner like this. In an area like this, you probably would have had a mailbox, a newspaper vending bill, probably some garbage cans. Those have all been taken away as part of the precautions. Also, manhole covers have been ceiled shut, and lots of police activity.
We're expecting about half a million people out in this general area. The police presence, that's according to what the police commissioner told us, will be similar to what they saw last year, but almost every single elite unit in the police department will be in action. We're talking about the harbor unit, antiterrorism unit, bomb squads, the mounted police, anti-snipers on planes. Heavy weaponry units, including the Herculean, and the Archangel task force, and a bioterrorism task force, as well, rapid response.
So they are -- what the police commissioner said, they have did are done everything they possibly they can do to be prepared for tonight, and they he just said, everybody's expecting to have a good party tonight. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: That party. Tell us about the festivities. HINOJOSA: I haven't had a chance to talk about the festivities, but hey that's what people come down for. For the first time tonight, you will have some special guests. Christopher Reeves and his wife will be down here, symbols of New Yorkers who symbolize hope and courage, and the other big thing that they're going to do tonight is that they're going to literally be ringing in the new year. I don't know if you can hear this a little bit, but they will give out 50,000 of these little ring bracelets that you slap on your wrist, and what they want to do is they want to break the world record of synchronized bell ringing. The world record was set in the year 2000 in Gudansk (ph), Poland with 10,000. They want to break that tonight with having 50,000 bell ringers.
And Anita ward will be here to sing here her famous '70s, hit, "Ring My Bell." So that's for the partyers. One thing people should know, once you get in the barricade, if you're coming down here, don't plan on leaving because, you won't be able to get out.
PHILLIPS: It sounds like fun. You wouldn't want to get out.
Maria Hinojosa, save me a bracelet, all right?
HINOJOSA: All right, got it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
