New York City Police patrol near the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, Tuesday Dec. 20, 2016. | AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews NYC officials, responding to Berlin attack, say city won't close outdoor markets

New York City beefed up security around outdoor markets following a terrorist attack in Berlin Monday, where a dozen people were killed and many more were injured when a driver plowed a stolen truck into a crowd of holiday shoppers.

The attacked prompted the mayor of Berlin to question whether such outdoor gatherings can be held safely, an idea that was swiftly dismissed in New York City.


One thing that officials say will help protect New York City's outdoor markets: the city's notorious traffic.

“Well, the good news here is we have the density of traffic. So, it’s actually hard to get up to speed to run anybody over," said New York Police Department deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism John Miller on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday.

In another television interview Tuesday, Miller dismissed the idea of canceling public events for security reasons. Berlin's mayor said his city would not hold street festivals because they could not be protected. CBS anchor Anthony Mason asked Miler if New York City might, at some point, take the same step.

“You know,” Miller replied, “this is the most difficult question in my job.” Miller then spoke about the preparation the police have already put in place and argued for the need to maintain an open society. “It’s about being agile. It’s about being flexible. It’s about being quick. But, as Sun Tzu said a long time ago, ‘He who protects everything, protects nothing.’”

At an unrelated even in Manhattan on Tuesday, a reporter asked Mayor Bill de Blasio about possibly closing down outdoor markets. The mayor dismissed the idea.

“No,” he said, he had not giving that proposal much thought. “We are not going to let terrorists intimidate us. We’re not going to let them change our way of life.” He added, “We have extraordinary capacity to protect our people.”

To protect against vehicular-based attacks, Miller, on CBS, said the NYPD has “developed a relationship with the truck-rental industry and the truck industry” and told them, “Here are some indicators of suspicious behavior.”

Other measures rolled out this year have changed how street-released events operate. This year’s Thanksgiving parade was the first to prohibit vehicles from crossing the parade route. The city has also restricted truck traffic on the main thoroughfare passing in front of President-elect Donald Trump’s home — Fifth Avenue, near 57th Street.

Miller also said there is a “randomness” to the attacks in the post-9/11 world, thanks to terrorists using a “low-tech, low-cost, high-impact” strategy.