New York City sees no signs of planned Election Day events, Mayor Bill de Blasio says

New York City is not seeing signs of any large protests nor celebrations planned for election night, possibly because the results may not be known immediately, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday morning on WCBS and 1010 WINS radio shows.

"I have not heard if any large events planned," he said, adding the NYPD was prepared for different outcomes including delays in determining what he called a decisive vote.

"It’s the whole ballgame," he said.

Though some storefronts have boarded up their windows, possibly fearing looters, the mayor said the NYPD has not advised them to do so.

"Based on what we are saying there’s not a particular reason to do that; it’s up to the individual store owner obviously."

Some polling stations opened late and some already have lines, but these are usual occurrences, the mayor said, promising polls will stay open for anyone on line by 9 p.m.

About 1.1 million New Yorkers took advantage of early voting and as many — or more — could vote Tuesday, the mayor said, adding early voting "absolutely" must continue and the Board of Elections must be reformed. At some early voting sites waits hit five hours.

"We have to make it better," de Blasio said, adding he had not been informed that absentee ballots had been received from some individuals who had died.

On Monday, de Blasio said New York City and the NYPD were prepared if protests over Tuesday’s presidential election turned violent. He added that officials were not aware of any specific threats.

Stores in midtown and other Manhattan shopping districts — including Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square, which was ransacked in June by looters after George Floyd was killed while in the custody of Minneapolis police — had boarded up windows with plywood over fears of election-related unrest.

"We are ready for all sorts of challenges," de Blasio said Monday during his daily briefing. "A lot of preparation has been happening over the last few weeks and I’m meeting with city officials, PD officials today to continue that preparation. As to the stores — look, every store owner has to make their own decision. … I respect the decision of each store owner. We are not giving guidance to store owners to do that, but if that’s what they choose to do, we certainly understand."

The mayor said the potential for unrest may depend on how election results were reported Tuesday.

"I think we shouldn’t prejudge," de Blasio said. "I think we’re going into something that we haven’t experienced before and that’s true. We’re going to know a lot more though obviously on election night, a close election is one thing, a not-so-close election is another thing."

De Blasio said the NYPD has made adjustments since May and June, when officers were accused of assaulting peaceful protests and journalists after thousands of people took to the streets after Floyd’s death. De Blasio said officials would move quicker to address any police misconduct.

"Of course there are adjustments being made," the mayor said. "What we saw that needed to be better was clear, fast response in the instances — and they were few, but they needed to be addressed more quickly — where an officer did something inappropriate."

The NYPD, de Blasio said, has a long history of handling protests and other large events.

"Remember what it’s like every year when we have, you know, well over a hundred world leaders here for the UN General Assembly, and normal years, all the times that there are major events happening around the city," de Blasio said. "There’s plenty of situations where the City of New York and the NYPD have to handle a huge, huge numbers of people. So, we are prepared."

De Blasio also announced that an "Election Observer Corps" — made up of hundreds of volunteer, lawyers and city officials — would be stationed outside polling sites Tuesday to make sure voters were not intimidated or harassed. The city also would provide translation services in a dozen languages.