Massive Security Set for Miss Liberty

It’s a security specialist’s ultimate shopping list: 8 helicopters, 121 patrol boats, 15 mobile headquarters, 7 bomb containment vehicles, 8 X-ray machines, 3,006 portable radios, 7 robots, 6 TV cameras, 10 explosive-sniffing dogs, 6 golf carts and 23.03 miles of tape--17.1 miles of it red.

Those are just a few of the preparations as New York police and 26 other law enforcement agencies are planning the largest security apparatus in New York City’s history during the Statue of Liberty’s centennial celebration over the July Fourth weekend.

Fears of Terrorism

Spurred by fears of international terrorism--amid the up to 12 million spectators at events ranging from a parade of tall sailing ships to a massive fireworks display to concerts on both sides of the Hudson River--authorities promised protection that will be even greater than that for the United Nations’ 40th anniversary and two papal visits to New York.

“We will have more police deployed in this operation than we’ve ever had,” said Police Commissioner Benjamin Ward at a news conference Thursday. “We have done terrorist assessments with the federal authorities, and we think we have covered everything . . . . It (security) is larger than anything we have ever done in New York City.”

A large part of lower Manhattan will be closed to traffic during most of the weekend. Mobile emergency rooms will be parked on some streets in case crowds are so thick that ambulances cannot get through them. Hospitals are stocking extra insulin for diabetics, supplies of crutches for sprains and blankets to warm any spectators who might fall off an estimated 40,000 pleasure boats expected to gather in the harbor.

President Reagan and French President Francois Mitterrand, who will rededicate the statue, will be the focus of much of the security. Stringent rules prohibiting aircraft and helicopter traffic over New York City will be put into effect, police helicopters with TV cameras will scan rooftops and provide pictures of potential trouble spots to a special security command post. Teams of frogmen will inspect docks on both banks of the Hudson for explosives.

35,099 Police Officers

A total of 35,099 police officers, backed by thousands of federal agents, will be used during the celebration July 3 to 6. The largest contingent, 15,005 police officers, will be deployed on July 4th, when millions are expected to crowd lower Manhattan.

A computer network will list every policeman in the field plus the officer’s assignment, will give the docking sites of ships and will chart not only presidential travel but the movements of 100 ambassadors expected to attend the ceremonies.

The FBI and the Navy have provided the police with extra bomb protection suits, robots to handle suspicious objects and total containment vehicles, in which bombs would be placed until they could be safely detonated. The vehicles are designed to withstand the blast of 40 pounds of dynamite. Any terrorist incident would be the responsibility of a joint police and FBI task force that has functioned in New York City for some years.

Because of worries that police cars will not be able to move through crowds, six golf carts and several mopeds have been ordered. Life preservers have been borrowed from the Navy so policemen can toss them to anyone who falls off a pier. Miles of rope, red and yellow tape and wood barriers have been stocked so spectator routes can be clearly marked.

Police even produced a film to be shown to the 30,000 sailors expected to be in port during the festivities, warning against con men on the streets, prostitutes and other potential hazards of the city.