Among those attending services at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church on the Upper East Side on Thursday morning was Mayor Eric Adams.
It comes as the NYPD is deploying additional patrols near Jewish locations for both the High Holy Days and the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel.
"You will have a safe, safe, holiday season as you celebrate the new year," said Adams. "Let's spend this year coming together not during crisis but during our moments of showing our love for each other."
Even though the holiday of Rosh Hashana is a time for celebration, the rabbi at Thursday morning's service said there is a five-alarm fire of hate in the country.
"I can admit and bear witness to if it was not for God, if it was not for the lord who was by our side, I don't know how we would have made it through this year," the rabbi said.
Adams spoke about the strong partnership between Black and Jewish communities. He also took the opportunity to remind everybody that despite the federal investigation swirling around him and widening, he will not stand down.
"The lawyers will handle the courtroom proceedings, my goal is to handle this city, and starting January 1st, 2022, this city was dealing with some of the most significant strife and problems that we've ever witnessed during the last few decades, we moved in the right direction and we're going to continue to do that," Adams said.
Authorities have acknowledged that with everything going on in the world, terror groups may be looking at it as an opportunity to carry out violence.
Top brass says the department has identified roughly 50 key locations throughout the city and have placed cameras there as another layer of security during the High Holy Days.
ALSO READ | 'Diverse set of threat actors' could take advantage of Oct. 7 anniversary: Sources
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