When the fireworks end, the real show begins for New York’s finest.
Eyewitness News reporter Josh Einiger had exclusive access Thursday night, as NYPD officers fanned out across neighborhoods prone to Fourth of July violence.
The so-called community response teams, out addressing quality-of-life concerns, were on the hunt for guns on Thursday.
Earlier in the day Eyewitness News joined some of the department’s top brass as they had a bird’s eye view of the city they’re responsible for keeping safe. But it wasn’t just the Macy’s barges and the million-plus spectators, it was also the 8.5 million New Yorkers just living their lives across the city.
“You realize how important our job is tonight and how the cops here, we have to get it right,” said NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.
Chell and Deputy Commissioner for Operations Kaz Daughtry have spent the past year planning for Thursday night, after a spasm of violence, especially in the Bronx, after Macy’s show last year.
This year they have applied the lessons that were learned then, in hopes to calm the violence.