Viewers can expect tight security on the East River for July 4th fireworks

Manhattan's Fourth of July fireworks spectacle will shift closer to Brooklyn to accommodate the hundreds of thousands expected to line the East River — along with a heavy dose of NYPD counterterrorism cops, assisted by police drones.

Fireworks barges will be moored just south of the Brooklyn Bridge, a shift from last year when they were stationed farther upriver and closer to Queens. The location of the fireworks  has been moved around the Manhattan waterfront in past years, including sometimes to the Hudson River, to spread the viewing experience around.

“These big events expect a big response — Fourth of July, New Year’s, Thanksgiving — it is what the NYPD does,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill said Tuesday at a media briefing. “We will be ready and it will be a great show.”

With the Brooklyn Bridge as a backdrop, this year’s fireworks display will spark memories of July Fourth 1983, when the city celebrated the historic bridge's centennial.  Starting at 2 p.m. Thursday, streets near the viewing areas will be closed to traffic, said Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison.

Vehicles will be prohibited on the Brooklyn Bridge as well as on FDR Drive in both directions between the Battery Park underpass and Houston Street, he said.

At 6 p.m., cops will begin letting the public into the viewing areas along the East River, at six access points in Manhattan and six in Brooklyn, Harrison said.  The fireworks  show is expected to begin at 9:25 p.m., officials said. An area will be set up for physically disabled viewers  at Murray Bergstraum High School's track and field facility on the East Side of Manhattan. The viewing area will be at the base of the Manhattan Bridge entrance to the site at Market and Cherry streets.

Security will be substantial at each access point to each of the viewing spots, with all bags checked.  No large coolers, alcoholic beverages, large backpacks, large blankets, umbrellas or lawn chairs will be allowed into the viewing areas, he said.

As has become standard at all major public events in New York City, thousands of cops will be on duty Thursday night, with some officers in plainclothes, Harrison said, and hundreds of blocker vehicles and sand trucks at key intersections. Aviation and harbor units will also be active, along with special long gun teams.

Chief James Waters, who heads the NYPD's counterterrorism effort, stressed there  has been no specific or credible threat against the event. At each access point, officers will check bags, with every five or 10 bags swiped by equipment designed to check for trace explosives, Waters said, adding that cops will also have portable radiation-detection devices. Specially trained explosive-detection canine units will work their way through the crowds.

Drone interdiction teams, which  were deployed in last weekend’s NYC Pride March will be active again, Waters said. The NYPD will have its own drones aloft to monitor the crowd and direct officers.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.