New York City Stepping Up Security For Fourth Of July Celebrations

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- Much like last weekend's Pride Parade, the mayor and police commissioner said there will be another strong showing of force on the Fourth of July to send a message.

"July 4th is about Freedom-- it's also about inclusion.... it's about a society for everyone, every faith. This is again exactly what the terrorists are trying to undermine. July 4th is when we put those values on display, so it's very important for people to express those values that day," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

More than 500 members of the newly created Critical Response Command, an elite counterterrosim squad, will keep New Yorkers safe.

"This will be the first Fourth of July that they will be out in full force since the command was created," he said.

The K-9 force, specifically vapor wake dogs, are different from bomb sniffing dogs and they are specifically trained to detect body worn explosives on a moving target.

"Having multiple vapor wake dogs operating through the crowd in any large public event on the building line on the sidewalk where people are walking with packages, backpacks, duffel bags or putting things down puts us at an advantage," NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said.

There will also be cameras, patrol by air and sea, plainclothes officers and radiation detectors.

An aggressive Vision Zero presence is planned with many checkpoints for drunk driving. There will also be patrols to make sure people aren't shooting off fireworks themselves.

"We're gonna have 95 teams of sergeant and five police officers throughout the city doing fireworks suppression," NYPD Cheif of Department James O'Neill said.

Above all else, officials want people to celebrate as safely as possible.

"Certainly we'll have the capability to respond if something should occur, but we're not anticipating something, but we'll plan for it certainly," Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.