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Northern Westchester Residents Happy With Boston Marathon Security

NORTHERN WESTCHESTER, N.Y. -- There will be double the number of police officers patrolling the 26.2-mile Boston Marathon on Monday, April 21, which eased the minds of many Northern Westchester residents.

James Kaufman has a friend running in the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 21.

James Kaufman has a friend running in the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 21.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly
John Prendergast said Boston Marathon day resembles a holiday in Boston.

John Prendergast said Boston Marathon day resembles a holiday in Boston.

Photo Credit: Brian Donnelly

Croton-on-Hudson’s James Kaufman, who was on a 25-mile bicycle ride Thursday when he stopped in Millwood, said he has a friend running in the marathon Monday who was a fellow partner at a civil engineering firm in New York City.

“I think it’s going to be one of the safest places, considering the level of security,” he said.

In addition to 3,500 officers patrolling the streets, there will be 100 more security cameras and bomb-sniffing dogs, according to CNN. Backpacks and handbags are banned for runners, and the Boston Athletic Association has asked spectators to not bring them either.

Other items that will not be allowed at the marathon include liquid containers with more than 1 liter, bulky clothes with pockets -- like vests -- and costumes that cover the face, which is especially poignant after a Boston man wearing a black veil and face paint pulled a prank near the marathon finish line on the one-year anniversary of the 2013 marathon tragedy on Tuesday, April 15.

Not far from where the pressure cooker exploded last year, killing three and injuring 264, Kevin Edson brought a backpack containing a rice cooker filled with confetti as a practical joke.

“Come on, what was he thinking? Especially with the heightened sensitivity of people since it’s been a year,” said John Prendergast, who lives in New York City but is staying with his brother in Yorktown.

Kaufmann said his 43-year-old friend, Tony Ely, is in a good state of mind and is simply excited to run in the Boston Marathon. He qualified to run in the 2013 marathon but lost his spot when the Boston Athletic Association made its standards more stringent for the first time since 1980.

Sheryl Ferrari of Millwood said she would be very concerned if her son, who runs marathons, was running in the Boston Marathon.

“I’m sure the people running are excited to do it, but I’m sure their parents are concerned,” she said.

Chappaqua’s Joan Ivers has a niece who ran the marathon last year and finished before the bomb went off. She escaped physical harm, but it took an emotional toll, said Ivers, whose entire family lives in Boston.

“You wonder what is going on in their head,” she said of Edson.

Share your thoughts on the security for the Boston Marathon or tell us about anyone you know running this year.

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