NEW YORK CITY — The luck of the Irish cleared out fears of a rainy parade, leaving only a sea of green, orange and buoyant faces along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
New York City has held a St. Patrick’s Day parade since 1762, making this year the 262nd parade — well, the 260th, if you don’t count the two years the parade was not in-person — and people from all over the world came to see what is commonly referred to as the world’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Ben Cooper, 67, and his wife, Marian, 68, both came from Dublin. Seeing the parade in Manhattan was something they always wanted to do.
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“It’s on our bucket list,” said Marian. “When we retired last year, we both said we were going to take it easy and travel and enjoy life.”
Marian had her nails done before she left, with her fingers painted all different design: a shamrock, an Irish flag, a U.S. flag. And, some might say correctly, each middle finger nail is adorned with “I <3 NY.”
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“Why not?” Marian said. “Life is too short.”
“We’ve always been told the one in New York is the biggest in the world,” said Ben,”and it’s just fabulous. It’s much bigger than the Irish ones.”
In Dublin, he said, the parades have more commercials and floats.
Both said they are “thoroughly enjoying” New York City on their second visit and plan to go to see a soccer match in Yankee Stadium and take the ferry to Staten Island.
Other spectators only had to drive — or walk — to view the parade. Friends Merry and Sheila both live on the Upper East Side and came because they said “parades are a part of America,” said Merry.
“It’s about sharing your identity, which is not something that people do everywhere,” she said. “This parade is a great celebration of the Irish.”
And, Merry added, it’s a great reminder of what it takes to make a city work.
“There’s 8.5 million people in New York City,” she said, pointing to passing municipal workers in the parade, “and these are the people who keep it going.”
Shelia was there for one specific municipal worker — her niece, who recently retired as the chief medical officer of the Fire Department.
“I come from a long line of firefighters,” said Shelia, who is of Irish decent.
Another pair was also waiting for the FDNY procession.
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Ed and Mary Ellen were waiting for their nephew, who’s a smoke eater in the West Village. They drove in from New Jersey, “but we’re from Queens,” Ed added.
“We try to come every year,” Mary Ellen said.
“We got here about the same time as the first group in the parade,” said Ed.
Nearby where a gaggle of press and politicians, including Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, held up the parade for about ten minutes, Hylza Medina Carraquillo was watching from the curb.
Carraquillo, 50, works as a 911 operator and today was her day off. The Manhattan resident said she came to “meet new friends and mingle with the parade people.”
One of those people was NYPD commissioner Keechant Sewell, who she took a photo with, and Carraquillo admitted she was a little starstruck.
“It’s amazing to meet someone who has so much impact on our lives,” she said. “That’s what is so fun about parades.”
A few blocks away stood John and Annie Kozach, with their friend of 20 years, Paddy, perched atop John’s shoulders.
Paddy is a big stuffed figure that the Kozach’s say has joined them at St. Patrick’s Day Parades for the last two decades.
“When kids see this thing they get a big smile on their face,” John said.
“He’s quiet,” Annie said of Paddy, “but he drinks a lot of beer.”
Annie, whose parents were born in Donegal, Ireland, says the parade is all about “happiness, and tradition.”
“So many people are here,” she said, “and there’s so much happiness.”
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