New York City officials praise ‘seamless’ papal visit

Pope Francis’ three-day visit to New York City went off without a hitch, according to city officials.

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers and tourists alike poured into Manhattan for the Holy Father’s first visit to the city, a three-day excursion that many NYPD Commissioner earlier described as part of the “largest security challenge ever” for police.

“The whole event went remarkably well, especially given the unique and potentially unpredictable circumstances of this papal visit,” said NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis on Sunday.

“The coordination with the other agencies and organizations involved was virtually seamless,” Davis said, adding that the 6,000 officers working with Secret Service and FBI agents encountered no disturbances for “an overall very successful series of events.”

Officers were also on hand on Saturday for the Global Citizen Festival, which drew thousands of visitors to watch musical acts Beyonce and Coldplay inCentral Park less than 24 hours after 80,000 people watch Pope Francis’ procession through the park.

The Police Department’s workis far from over, however. Dignitaries from around the world flocked to Manhattan for the United Nations General Assembly.

Between the papal visit and the U.N. event, NYPD expects to conduct at least 220 motorcades throughout the city as leaders convene in the Upper East Side on Monday.

As the MTA promised before the Pope landed at JFK Thursday afternoon, more personnel were on hand at stations near or along Pope Francis’ stops in East Harlem, Central Park, midtown and lower Manhattan.

The transit agency rerouted 25 local buses, but there were no major incidents with public transportation reported during the visit. An MTA spokesman did not respond to Metro by press time.

Almost immediately after Pope Francis headed to Philadelphia for the last leg of his visit to the United States, Mayor Bill de Blasio released a statement that the visit was a ” historic experience for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers across the five boroughs.”

“I’m humbled that the world’s leading moral voice chose to grace our city with his presence, and deeply moved by the message of unity and compassion he brought here this week,” the mayor said.

During Pope Francis’ brief stay, de Blasio’s office decided to give the religious figure his own municipal ID card, which the administration launched in January to help give local homeless and immigrant residents access to city services.