NYC on high alert at ISIS threat

New York City has gone on high alert in response to the release of a new ISIS video that sets Times Square in the terror group’s bombing or chemical-warfare sights.

City officials, however, say they won’t be cowed.

“We will not submit to their wishes,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio, CBS News reported. “I want to encourage all New Yorkers to go about their business normally. It’s important to note that there is no credible and specific threat against New York City.”

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And New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton assured on Fox News no city in the nation is “better prepared to protect against a terrorist attack” than the one he oversees.

But the video has set many on edge, just the same.

It was posted by several sources late Wednesday, and opens with remarks that French President Francois Hollande made on the heels of last Friday’s Paris terror attacks. Interspersed are comments from the terrorists.

Then come images of New York City – specifically, shots of Times Square, several city taxi cabs, TGI Friday’s restaurant in Times Square and the Gap retail store in Herald Square. Also included in the video is a man strapping an explosive device to himself, at an undisclosed location, and several other men speaking Arabic and French as they praise the Paris attacks.

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Bratton downplayed the video’s significance, even while announcing a massive step-up of police presence in the city, to the tune of hundreds of additional officers.

“To be quite frank with you,” he said, CBS News reported, “there is nothing new about that video.”

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The video comes as the city sets for holiday season, including its massive Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting. Tens of millions of people flock to the region to attend these events each year.

“Be aware, but do not be afraid. The NYPD will protect you,” Bratton said, Fox News reported. “We cannot be intimidated and that’s what terrorists seek to do. They seek to create fear. They seek to intimidate. We will not be intimidated and we will not live in fear.”

Cheryl Chumley

Cheryl K. Chumley is a journalist, columnist, public speaker and author of "The Devil in DC." and "Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare is Becoming our Reality." She is also a journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation in Washington, D.C., where she spent a year researching and writing about private property rights. Read more of Cheryl Chumley's articles here.