For U.S. Open, NYPD is authorized to take out drones on its own for the first time

The U.S. Open is set to begin on Sunday at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, and the New York Police Department explained its security plans to keep more than a million fans and hundreds of players safe.

The tournament holds two sessions each day, beginning first at 9:30 a.m. and the second at 6 p.m. It will run until the finals on Sept. 13.

The NYPD said it will have hundreds of officers deployed around the clock at the center and nearby subway stations, including the 74th Street Roosevelt Avenue station.

The department's counter-drone teams have been authorized for the first time under the Safer Skies Act to take down any unauthorized drones in the area. 

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said it's a major change from the World Cup, where the NYPD had to rely on federal authorities to take down the drones. 

"This rulemaking authority allows us for the first time to use our own people, our own tools, our own equipment under independent authority; we now do what the federal government has been doing, which is traditionally an electronic counter-drone mitigation," said Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner. "Mitigation is one of several tools that we use to protect against unauthorized drones. There will be a federal temporary flight restriction as well over this facility that allows us to take these countermeasures." 

The NYPD will also station K-9 units, the bomb squad, heavy weapons teams, and plainclothes officers in the area during the tournament. Concrete barriers are expected to be installed to prevent cars from entering the area. 

Anyone attending the tournament is asked not to bring backpacks, coolers, glass bottles, noisemakers, video recorders, banners, and other items. For a full list of banned items, head to the U.S. Open website. Attendees will have to go through a "multi-layer screening process" before entering the center.

"With nearly 80,000 people in this complex each day, we are asking the public to stay alert and always be aware of your surroundings. If you see something suspicious or anything that does not feel right, tell a uniformed officer or call 911 right away," Tisch said.

Tisch said there are no credible threats at this time.