Parade boosts ‘air’ security

IN A SIGN of the times, the annual inflation of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons will have unusually tight security.

Everyone who goes to Wednesday’s event, now scheduled for 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., will have to submit to screening and won’t be allowed to bring large backpacks, coolers, umbrellas or chairs, officials said Monday.

The event will be patrolled by rooftop snipers, helicopters, observation teams, bomb-sniffing dogs and cops on horseback, and others will be monitoring radiation levels.

At least one police officer will be assigned to each block, and a cop will be assigned to every balloon.

The heightened security is a precaution in the wake of the Halloween truck attack that killed eight people and injured a dozen on a bike path near the World Trade Center site, officials said.

“Pain still hangs in the air because of what happened last month,” Mayor de Blasio said.

Added Police Commissioner James O’Neill, “We don’t make decisions based on fear. We will never accept such acts of cowardice.”

Central Park West will be shut down from W. 72nd St. to W. 86th St., and concrete barriers will be placed along Columbus Ave. from 77th St. to 81st St., said NYPD Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan.

More than 1 million people are expected to turn out for the parade.

“There will be inconveniences as always, there will be a lot of street closures,” de Blasio said. “Take mass transit if you can.

“What you can rely upon is there will be a very strong presence of the NYPD — stronger than ever, in fact.”

Still, O’Neill and de Blasio said there was no specific credible terror threat.

“The phrase ‘If you see something, say something’ is more important now than ever,” de Blasio said.

The time of the balloon inflation event was 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. in 2016.

Monahan said people will be allowed to enter the event from W. 74th St. and exit at W. 81st St.

On the day of the parade, traffic along the route will be shut down at 7 a.m.