NEW YORK, NY — A “massive security operation” will be in place Friday as New York marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday. The city’s memorial observance is expected to draw former presidents, a vice president and other senior officials, prompting a large NYPD presence in lower Manhattan.
Tisch said the department will work with the U.S. Secret Service and federal, state and local partners to secure the memorial site, protect attendees and keep the surrounding area safe. She said the scale of the operation reflects both the significance of the anniversary and the number of dignitaries expected to attend.
Former presidents and Vice President JD Vance expected at the memorial
Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend Friday’s commemoration at the 9/11 Memorial, while President Donald Trump will not be there, Tisch said. Former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are also expected, along with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The guest list helps explain the heightened security posture around the ceremony. Officials said the event will be limited to ticketed attendees, and the memorial site will be treated as a tightly controlled space throughout the day.
Tisch said the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau will have a visible role, with many officers heavily armed. The department also plans to keep a close watch on the crowd and the nearby streets as the ceremony unfolds.
Counter-drone teams and Secret Service fencing will surround the memorial
One of the more technical parts of the security plan involves counter-drone teams prepared to electronically take over and land any rogue drones. Tisch said those units will be ready in case an unauthorized aircraft appears over the memorial area.
The Secret Service will install security fencing around the perimeter of the memorial site and along the east side of the West Side Highway, from Liberty Street to Fulton Street. Those barriers are intended to control access and reduce the chance of disruptions near the ceremony.
Officials did not describe any specific incident behind the precautions. Instead, they framed the measures as part of the standard response for a major anniversary event with top-level guests and a sensitive location.
Traffic and pedestrian restrictions will reshape lower Manhattan Friday morning
The security perimeter will also affect how people move through the neighborhood. The area south of Canal Street, from Broadway to West Street, will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning Friday morning, and pedestrian access will also be restricted in the zone.
That means drivers and pedestrians should expect delays, detours and limited entry around the memorial area. The closures are designed to give police and federal partners more room to manage checkpoints and keep the ceremony site secure.
Because the event is ticketed, only those with access credentials will be allowed inside the memorial grounds. The tighter perimeter is part of the effort to keep the anniversary observance orderly while accommodating a large security footprint.
City officials say there are no known credible threats
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said there are no known credible threats against the ceremony, but he added that officials are taking every precaution. His comments came as city and federal agencies prepared for one of the most visible security operations in lower Manhattan this year.
The absence of a known threat does not reduce the concern around a date that carries deep symbolic weight in New York. Officials are treating the anniversary as a high-profile public event that requires layered protection even without a specific warning.
That approach reflects how security planning has evolved around major commemorations and large public gatherings. The city is balancing the desire to hold a solemn memorial with the need to keep guests, workers and nearby residents safe.
NYPD intelligence officials say the terrorism threat has changed since 2001
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner said the threat landscape looks very different from what it did 25 years ago. She said terrorism has become geographically decentralized and ideologically more diverse.
Weiner said authorities are no longer dealing primarily with al Qaeda or Al Qaeda ISIS. Instead, she pointed to a wider mix of threats tied to conspiracy theories, grievances, nihilistic violence, the far left, the far right and anti-government extremism.
She described the current environment as more individualized and unpredictable, which means law enforcement must remain alert. Her remarks underscored why officials are pairing visible police manpower with specialized technology and federal coordination for Friday’s ceremony.
