Dominican Day Parade Delights Midtown Multitudes — Loudly!

Hundreds of thousands of red-white-and-blue-adorned spectators and participants crowded Sixth Avenue from the 36th to 55th streets for the annual Dominican Day Parade Sunday Aug. 10. The weather for the event was terrific: sunny with temperatures in the 80s, and just enough sweet humidity to keep the sweat glands open.

Keeping the parade route open, and the surrounding streets open and closed as needed, were around 1,000 NYPD officers. This number was about double that of last year’s parade, which was marred by multiple route-crashing incidents by overexcited young people that caused the event to be shut down early. Add in a post-parade stabbing, and the multiple shootings that followed the Bronx Dominican Parade this past July 27, and the concern was justified.

The issue, of course, isn’t Dominicans themselves but rather the same problem that has marred the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, and SantaCon, among other events: namely booze, and other drugs, including now legal marijuana, that increases the likelihood of people doing stupid things.

Cognizant of this, Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and the parade organizers found a simple solution: start the parade two hours earlier, at 11am, instead of 1pm, and head the rowdies off at the pass. It worked.

On the NYPD side, besides the many hundreds of blue-uniformed officers from precincts around the city, this reporter saw Patrol Borough Manhattan South Chief James McCarthy; a clutch of officers from DCPI, the department’s public information bureau; dozens of blue-shirted Community Affairs officers; and the snazzily dressed bicycle cops from the Strategic Response Group (SRG).

The presence of the SRG—which was also among the units that responded to the July 28 mass shooting at 345 Park Avenue—was ironic insofar as they were also protecting a parade attendee who openly questions the unit’s existence, namely Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

Reflecting his roots as an anti-police Democratic Socialist, Mamdani has vowed to dispand the SRG because he objects to their presence at various protests he supports. Whether Mamdani’s position will evolve as he becomes more familiar with the scope of NYPD operations—and the bad actors who sometimes infiltrate otherwise peaceful crowds—remains to be seen.

All Aboard the Good Ship Dominica

Besides all the side-street preparation, which included a stunning phalanx of hot rods and custom cars, the parade was preceded by an opening ceremony held on a float in front of 1013 Sixth Avenue, between West 37th and 38th streets. Originally a four story apartment building, the edifice today includes a ground-floor gift shop and Abe’s Tailor Shop above—the latter a reminder that these blocks are part of the once heavily Jewish Garment Center.

Standing on the float were Dominican Day Parade chair Cristina Contreras, who acted as bilingual emcee, numerous event honorees, and some eminent politicians.

Among the pols, Mamdani was given a front-row spot, flanked by his fellow State Assembly Members Amanda Septimo and Karines Reyes, both Bronx Dominicans; with Mayor Adams (wearing a blue Mayor Adams ballcap), Governor Kathy Hochul, and US Representative Adriano Espaillat (wearing a white straw fedora) also up front.

After some opening words from Contreras, two singers, a man and a woman, performed a lovely rendition of the Dominican national anthem, with the Dominicans present putting their hands over their hearts. This was followed by the “Star-Spangled Banner,” with most people making the same gesture.

Contreras introduced the parade’s grand marshal, Nelson Cruz, whom she described as “someone who recognizes who we are and all the contributions we bring to this beautiful city.” Cruz is also a retired major-league baseball player, who had 18 seasons in the big leagues and was a seven-time all-star. Currently, Cruz is an MLB Special Adviser for Baseball Operations.

Mayor Adams, sounding a bit subdued, said, “Thank you so much, and I’m just looking forward to marching, and we look forward to taking this parade to the main stage—you should be on Fifth Avenue and we’re going to make sure and move forward to make that happen next year. Viva Dominicana!”

Governor Hochul spoke at greater length: “Buenos dias,” she began. “I’m so proud to be here again as your governor kicking off this parade, the 43rd celebration of all that is magnificent and fun about the Dominican community, over a million strong right here in New York City. And in fact, I love the Dominican Republic so much, I’ll be heading down there this fall—more details coming—but I’m very excited about deepening our ties, keeping our trade relations, helping businesses in both countries, as well as continuing our work on the $12-million Dominican Cultural Center in northern Manhattan we’re working on as well.”

From here, Hochul pivoted into a pro-immigrant statement that deftly expressed her general support of migrant vigor while adding the qualification that “law-abiding individuals feel and know that this is their home.”

Other solons on the float included NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, City Comptroller Brad Lander, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and Council Member Christopher Marte, who is himself Dominican. In the City Council cordon, Marte marched with fellow council members Gale Brewer, Amanda Faríus, and Crystal Hudson.

Elsewhere, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa were also in attendance.

Northward, March!

This year’s line of march began with the NYPD Mounted Unit, seven horsepower strong, followed by a two-man Sanitation worker mucking crew. A trio of motorcycle cops followed, as did Governor Hochul’s bachata-booming sound truck, followed by the governor herself, State Senator Robert Jackson, and Mayor Adams, who marched with NYC Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez by his side.

The NYPD marching band, as ever, was a highlight, likewise the Port Authority Police bagpipers and, suprisingly, a Dominican drum corps that accompanied Brad Lander.

Dancing like a merengue-inspired dervish in front of his cordon and waving a large Dominican flag, the comptroller’s exuberance made even the joyous Dominican Officers Association, the NYPD Hispanic Society, and a cadre of snazzily dressed officers from the Dominican Republic who marched after him seem a little restrained.