Police said they will nearly double their presence at Sunday’s Dominican Day Parade after violence shut down last year’s event earlier than planned.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Friday that the force would be adding 500 officers — for a total of 1,000 — to oversee the National Dominican Day Parade celebration, which officially begins at 11 a.m. Sunday in Manhattan.
Police shut the parade down early least year after arresting a man for allegedly jumping on a car and slashing the driver in the face.
“ Having looked at what occurred last year in the staffing numbers, we probably under-did the staffing at this parade,” said Tisch, who was not yet police commissioner during last year’s event.
“That was unacceptable, and we will not tolerate it happening again,” she added.
The NYPD says in addition to nearly 1,000 uniformed officers, there will be 140 traffic agents, the K9 team and drone teams patrolling the event.
The parade is in its 43rd year of celebrating Dominican heritage and pride in the city. The step-off will be led by Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson.
The theme for this year is “Quisqueya & USA: United in Culture and Tradition,” and the Grand Marshall is MLB 7-times All-Star Nelson Cruz.
But amidst the excitement around the festivities is also anxiety around keeping the half a million estimated attendees safe.
“We’re very proud that the police department has really increased their presence in the parade route to ensure that everybody is safe,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat at the NYPD press conference on Friday. “We are gonna have a fun and safe time this coming Sunday.”
The parade will shut down several streets on the island with the route running along 6th Avenue from 36th Street to 55th Street. A full list of street closures can be found here.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams and several other officials are expected to be in attendance.
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