A state-of-the-art security station called the “Brain Center” is buzzing with activity below UN headquarters on the eve of next week’s high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. More than 140 heads of state, including those of Israel, Palestine, and Ukraine, are in New York City for the yearly diplomatic pilgrimage.
The United States Secret Service’s next major task is to ensure their safety.
Despite being haunted by the failed coup attempt on former president Trump in July, the CIA remains resolute in its multi-agency strategy to safeguard the United Nations General Assembly, a National Special Security Event on par with the Super Bowl.
Motorcades, protective details, NYPD helicopters and patrol boats, twelve U.N. security K-9 teams searching for explosives, road closures, and traffic diversions are all part of the plan, which was created in collaboration with the New York City police and the United Nations Security and Safety Service, among other organizations. Attendees will include Secret Service members stationed all over the globe. Airspace is being closed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Coast Guard is limiting access to the East River near the United Nations.
Having all of the world’s heads of state gathered in one place at once during the United Nations General Assembly is more impressive than any Super Bowl. Every year, the Secret Service is engrossed in the most intricate event.
Coming up on the heels of the Republican and Democratic conventions and the last weeks of the presidential campaign, it’s going to be a particularly hectic stretch this year. Acting Secret Service Director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. compared the situation to an engine being strained to its breaking point when he spoke Monday, following the thwarting of what appeared to be another attempt on Trump’s assassination in Florida. “They are rising to this moment” and meeting the challenges, he said.
“The operational tempo is incredibly high,” stated Patrick Freaney, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s New York field office.
Rarely seen by the public, the Associated Press was the UN General Assembly (UNGA) security setup, which included the “Brain Center” and a joint operations center where the Secret Service, the New York Police Department, and other agencies could communicate in real time to eliminate logistical problems and threats. Additionally, they are working in tandem with the respective foreign security forces that safeguard the dignitaries.
According to Freaney, designating an incident as a National Special Security incident facilitates coordination, communication, and planning across government agencies in the wake of a national emergency. The Secret Service is in command, but the 300-person United Nations Security and Safety Service and the New York Police Department’s strong counterterrorism and other activities are crucial.
On a tour of the joint operations center, Freaney made the following statement: “We have over 140 heads of state, heads of government that we’re moving around the city.” The center accommodates ten local and federal agencies, including the State and Defense departments, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
The safe departure of all of them is of the utmost importance, according to Freaney. Imagine the logistical challenges of coordinating the simultaneous arrival of 140 motorcades in a single location. In order to bring those details in safely, this is crucial.
Additionally, separate command centers for the Secret Service, the New York Police Department, and the State Department will be operational in Brooklyn, Manhattan’s One Police Plaza, and a neighboring hotel ballroom. As the biggest police force in the country, the New York Police Department (NYPD) boasts a state-of-the-art Joint Operations Center that provides officers with vital information and live feeds from security, drone, and helicopter-mounted cameras.
The United Nations Security and Safety Service maintains command at the “Brain Center.” It is responsible for the security of the United Nations headquarters campus.
On the 18-acre headquarters site, there are 1,400 security cameras. Wall-to-wall displays display live feeds from dozens of these cameras. This is located downstairs from the primary hub of U.N. activity. Everything is documented and can be accessed at any time. Potential breaches and crises are alerted via automated voices. For every one of the more than 22,000 individuals that go through security checkpoints every single day, computers produce images and data in real-time. For rapid response, fire alarms are hardwired into the city’s main dispatch system.
When world leaders are in town, U.N. security officers work 12-hour shifts and are on duty around the clock at the command post. The objective, according to Inspector Malinda McCormack, is to receive, evaluate, and distribute information swiftly.
Plans for UNGA’s security began to take form a few of months ago. This is the 79th annual meeting, and the Secret Service and its allies use previous ones as a guide, modifying them to account for new developments like the battles in Ukraine and Gaza.
United Nations Security and Safety Service chief Michael Browne stated, “There’s an incredible trust.” “I believe a crucial component for success in a very complicated and demanding operation like UNGA is the incredible sense of collegiality and collaboration that exists here.”
Authorities stated on Friday that no specific or credible threats existed regarding the event.
The NYPD’s deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, Rebecca Weiner, however, admitted that “the chaoticness, the diversity and the unpredictable nature of the threat environment” necessitates agility and the ability to foresee any possible means by which an individual could attempt to inflict harm.
We are living in drastically different times, Weiner remarked.
For the first time since the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked an Israeli offensive in Gaza killing tens of thousands of people, world leaders are gathering at the UNGA. According to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell, there have been over four thousand war demonstrations so far, and more are expected next week.
At UNGA, you can expect to see both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, is also anticipated to make a triumphant homecoming. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has declined to attend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be representing Russia at the event.
Even though the conflict is far away, officials are “considering what’s happening overseas in these home countries and what we can anticipate here,” according to Weiner.
“Bridging nations together is the entire point of this assembly,” she further stated. Our security posture is based on the premise that we must do this.