The NYPD has announced its Super Bowl security plan for Times Square, which includes a slew of anti-terror measures — and extensive street closures.
The big game will be played in East Rutherford, NJ, on Feb. 2, but the center of entertainment will be a Manhattan theme park called Super Bowl Boulevard that will shut down Broadway from 33rd to 48th streets from midnight Jan. 26 until Feb. 1.
“We’re expecting a massive crowd,” a law-enforcement source said. “It’s going to be totally nuts out there. Thousands and thousands of people. Already all the hotels in Times Square are all booked up.
“The security is going to be really tight.”
At least 400,000 visitors will be drawn to the metropolitan area and a large chunk is expected to turn up at the “boulevard,” officials said.
Police will deploy helicopters with sensors able to detect radiation on the ground, trained dog teams, heavily armed Hercules squads, extra surveillance cameras — and even patrol boats — along with lots of uniformed cops.
Snow could cause logistical problems for the police, but at least it would benefit one of the attractions — an eight-lane toboggan run that is expected to accommodate up to 1,000 riders an hour.
It is 180 feet long and 58 feet high and will sit on Broadway between 40th and 41st streets. As a result, 41st Street will be closed to traffic from 9 a.m. to midnight daily during the period.
“As always, the NYPD is taking a multilayered approach to protect the public at these events,” said Inspector John O’Connell of the department’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau.
“Many of the technologies and procedures that we will be employing throughout this period are already being used throughout the city on a daily basis,” he added.
How pedestrians will be affected in the boulevard area is unclear.
O’Connell said earlier this week that it hadn’t been determined if people will be banned from carrying backpacks and other bags into Super Bowl-related events.
“We haven’t really expressed our whole security posture yet,” O’Connell said at a Police Headquarters conference Tuesday.
The NYPD will not be providing security at MetLife Stadium, where the game will be played.