A Look Behind Security Management at Two Iconic Holiday Celebrations

Table 1. Holiday Event Attendance in New York City (Source: New York Police Department).

As a planned event, the parade requires coordination among agencies to prepare for the potential impacts of winter weather, the threat of a terrorist attack, protests, or other incidents. Using the Citywide Incident Management System as a blueprint for events and responses, NYCEM assists partner agencies and public and private companies to host public events. While preparing for upcoming planned events, Bouzy made the following observation:

We are a second set of eyes from the planning months prior to the execution the day of for any issues that may occur. Every agency sees the assignment only through their perspective and what their scope is. Through our preparation and collaboration, we have a broader picture of the events, a bird’s eye view of the situation. We know the pros and cons, and as the coordinator agency, we can organize the resources necessary in the event of an incident.

The 2023 parade stands out for Bouzy because two incidents briefly disrupted the parade. The first – near 59th Street and 5th Avenue – was a group of pro-Palestinian supporters who jumped over the barricades and glued themselves to the street. Later that day, another group of protesters jumped over the barricades to protest the Israel-Gaza war. Bouzy reported:

As the advance team along the route, we notified the police department, and they responded very quickly. We prepare for all types of disturbances. During the incidents, the floats were slowed down as the police removed the protesters from the street.

Lessons Learned

For large-scale events like the Thanksgiving Day Parade, New Year’s Eve, and the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks, NYCEM builds contingency and multi-agency plans based on the previous year’s events and lessons learned from a significant incident. For example, after incidents during the 1997 and 2005 parades, two mayoral task forces were created to review accidents and injuries. In 1997, the Cat in the Hat balloon hit a streetlamp, toppling it and injuring several spectators. Then, in 2005, the M&M balloon became unstable along the route, with its ropes snagging a streetlamp, causing it to fall to the ground and injuring two spectators.

Kevin Clark, deputy director of the Response Support Unit/Public Safety for NYCEM, discussed preparations for the Thanksgiving Day Parade in a 2024 interview:

Even though we do this event every year, there is always an opportunity to learn something new. For the last 15 years, we have applied [our] Citywide Incident Management System and the National Incident Management System to have a successful event. The key to success has three elements: interagency coordination, creating a plan, and executing the plan.

Crowd Communication

Just as important as having an emergency plan before an incident, communicating with the public before and during a planned event also plays a major role in its success. Ahead of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, NYCEM creates a Nixle code for parade-goers to receive free information about the event on their cell phones, including weather and mass transit disruptions. That information also includes the best locations to see balloon inflations, another large-scale event the night before the parade near the American Museum of Natural History. In 2023, according to NYPD Operations, over 300,000 visitors watched as new and old balloons had their last rehearsal.

Nixle is a messaging tool for large-scale events like the parade or New Year’s Eve. With this tool, anyone can text 692-692 – or NYC NYC – to receive information about an event. The Nixle message is also available in Spanish. Nick Narine, director of public warning with NYCEM, described the messaging process in an interview ahead of the 2024 holiday season:

For the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, we start working with their production team about a month before. Our messages for the event start about 24 hours prior, to let people know how to gain access, what items not to bring, transportation, and weather information.

Weather is always a factor for large-scale events, especially for the Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year’s Eve, during which wind or cold temperatures can impact the event for planners and spectators. Wind in the forecast during the Thanksgiving Day Parade affects how high or low the balloons are flown, as each balloon has different metrics for its required height and weight along the route. A windy day can impact how low a balloon can float without becoming a potential danger to spectators. To ensure the safety of spectators and other floats, each balloon team is assigned an NYPD officer to report any issues along the route.

Messaging for New Year’s Eve can help visitors make informed wardrobe decisions, as many will arrive at Times Square in the middle of the afternoon for a very long winter day outdoors. A public warning specialist is assigned to the incident command vehicle to assist with messaging in an emergency during all events. By being on the scene, Narine said the specialist could be part of the conversation with the other agencies represented, enabling them to send pre-drafted messages within minutes. Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, further stated in an October 2024 interview regarding the collaboration with NYCEM for New Year’s Eve:

Each year, hundreds of thousands of revelers descend on the Crossroads of the World to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Times Square. The success of this and any large-scale events is only possible with coordination, communication, cooperation, and collaboration between the city agencies, the community, and those attending the event. NYC Emergency Management plays a key role in all those elements.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year’s Eve are two large-scale events during the holiday season. Although not every event receives its own Nixle code, another messaging option exists. Narine said visitors can sign up to Notify NYC while in New York City to receive alerts about weather, transportation, or any other potential impacts on their event. Notify NYC is New York City’s free emergency alert system, available in 14 languages, including American Sign Language.

Many of the messages issued by NYCEM are initiated from the coordination between its Watch Command Unit and the CICs. Watch Command is the agency’s 24/7 team that continuously monitors radio, television, social media, and scanners for any incident that could require a large response. During planned events, reports from the CICs provide situational awareness and what resources may be needed during an incident. In an interview a month before the parade, Watch Command Director Stacey Martinez said, “A successful Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is great weather, having people go out to enjoy it, showing up with a sense of safety, and getting home safely to their loved ones.”

Different Scale, Same Planning and Execution

For John Grimm, former assistant commissioner and deputy commissioner of operations with NYCEM and current deputy commissioner for logistics, events like New Year’s Eve in Times Square are not just about the 1.5 million spectators who attended in 2023, according to NYPD. The event also has a stage for performers, with multiple national and international broadcasts simultaneously. The footprint may be smaller than the Thanksgiving parade, but it is managed with the same coordination, planning, and execution. Grimm observed ahead of 2024’s holiday events that

The New York City Police Department has different perimeters to control access so that people do not bring contraband or weapons, making it a safe day for everyone, from the performers to the live broadcast and the spectators.

Grimm said that contraband in the past was personal drones, which people attempted to fly above the crowds during the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Through a collaboration between NYCEM, NYPD, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the response teams monitored the skies for any drones near the area and any potential dangers they may cause. “Private drones can injure people if they were designed to do bad things and fly over an area where there are a lot of people,” added Grimm.

With New Year’s Eve also on his work schedule for 2024, Bouzy is hoping that, unlike 2023, spectators will not enter the “frozen zone” where emergency vehicles are parked during planned events. The frozen zone extends from 42nd to 49th Streets and 5th to 8th Avenues. Just as the Times Square event ended in 2023, a large group removed barricades and flooded an area of the frozen zone. In an emergency, the crowd could have made response times much longer. He concluded:

We really try to plan for every possible incident during an event. What’s fun about planned events is that, after months of planning, everything comes together. We start planning shortly after it finishes, and the public doesn’t realize how many moving parts there are. If the public doesn’t see us, it’s a good thing.

Participants can contribute to event success with their own emergency plan:

• Speak with a loved one about knowing what to do in the event of an emergency.
• Discuss a meeting location with a fellow attendee in the event of separation.
• Always have a fully charged cell phone.

As New Yorkers and holiday revelers around the world prepare to enjoy outdoor festivities during the holiday season, an emergency plan is essential to event success. When the public doesn’t notice emergency management’s moving parts during an event, it has been a success.

Listen to an extended discussion on this topic in the following PrepTalk.