A Little Less Green Next Year…

On March 17th, 2010 New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade wound its way up Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 86th Street bringing a taste of Irish joy (and booze) to New Yorkers. Sadly, according to the New York Times, 2011 will be seeing less green. This is the result of a new rule is being put in place by the Police Department that will cut parade routes back by 25 percent. In an effort to reduce costs, police have declared that parades must have shorter routes and cannot last more than five hours.

Because the tradition of passing by the St. Patrick’s Cathedral is too important to miss, it is assumed that the parade won’t go as far uptown, and will probably end between 72nd and 79th streets. Trimming the parade route will result in less business for all the establishments on the Upper East Side that usually get a boost in patronage from St. Patrick’s Day. Several of these businesses are bars such as Brady’s, Mustang, and Molly Pitchers.

The police department asserts that shortening parade routes will save $3.1 million. These savings will avoid cuts in other police services, or downsizing the Police Department altogether.

Of course the St. Patrick’s Day Parade won’t be the only celebration affected by the new rule. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Gay Pride Parade, and numerous other celebrations that parade throughout the City will all have to be shortened.
Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler told the Times that Michael Bloomberg said that a tax increase was not an option for New Yorkers and that “we can’t take our eyes off the ball when it comes to keeping crime low.”