Revelers are expected to pack Times Square on Tuesday to ring in 2025. As a result, Mayor Eric Adams ensured an “omnipresence of the blue uniform” along with the officers in plain clothes to “give the element of surprise.”

Since last year, the NYPD has added two additional drone teams to the four that patrolled last year. Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry explained that the unmanned drones worked well before.

“We’re gonna have mobile drone teams not only in Manhattan but throughout the whole city as well so we can monitor the city, you know, for New Year’s Eve,” said Daughtry. “We’re looking for any suspicious activities, as the police commissioner have mentioned, and we’re also looking for any type of anomalies. Maybe somebody having a medical emergency, maybe people that may be in distress. So these are our officers, they’re pilots with the FAA — you know they have the certified FAA 107 —but their police officers watching a live feed so they know exactly what to look for. If they spot anything or any type of anomalies as they may see, they’ll notify the ground unit right away.”

Additionally, ABC network will host a drone show during the holiday celebration as part of its New Year’s programming. The network posted on social media to assure New York and New Jersey residents not to worry should they see them.

A graduating class of 600 police recruits will also patrol New York City before their graduation, which is about a week away. The city is protecting crowds from any sort of car violence with sandbags.

Adams announced that over 65 million visitors came to the city in 2024, the second-highest number of tourists in the city’s history. Next year, New York will celebrate its 400th anniversary.