The NYPD is significantly boosting the number of cops at the Dominican Day Parade on Sunday — after an unruly crowd and a slashing forced police to shut down the festivities early last year.
The 43rd annual cultural celebration – set to run from West 38th to West 55th streets on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan – will have 500 more police officers on the beat than last year, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters Friday.
“Just like every other major parade in New York City, plans are in place to ensure that it will be safe, it will be secure and that it will be peaceful,” Tisch said. “And the women and men of the NYPD will be out there protecting everyone along the route with a stepped-up presence this year.”
A total of 957 unformed police officers and 140 traffic agents will be on hand – not counting the K9 and drone teams also present, according to NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta.
As an extra safety measure, the NYPD, along with parade organizers, opted to kick off the event two hours earlier this year, at 11 a.m., Gulotta said.
The revelry came to a crashing halt last year when the crowd grew boisterous and spectators started jumping the barricades around 46th Street.
By late afternoon, a 19-year-old man was busted for allegedly cutting a 65-year-old man on the face and hand with a knife during a dispute just off the parade path, sources said at the time.
The NYPD then shut down the parade before it could reach Central Park.
“That was unacceptable, and we will not tolerate it happening again,” Tisch said Friday. “But we also know that that behavior does not reflect the vast majority of people who came out to celebrate.”
Tisch acknowledged that last year, “We probably underdid the staffing at this parade.
“So that is one thing that we were very intent on fixing for this year, and I think that will lead to great outcomes,” the top cop said.
The police presence this year will include “uniformed officers posted along the route, traffic agents at intersections and crossings, as well as personnel from our Emergency Service Unit, Mounted Unit, K9 and counterterrorism teams,” Tisch said.
“Our auxiliary officers will also be working to support the detail,” she added. “Our helicopters and our drones will be deployed during the parade to assist our officers on the ground, providing comprehensive coverage in real time. As always, there will be assets that you will see and others that you will not see.”
Officers will also be “out in full force” once the parade wraps up to ensure that any festivities later in the day “remain peaceful,” Tisch said.
As of Friday, there were “no known specific, credible threats” to the parade, and no indications of “potential gang-related violence,” Tisch said.
“But as always, the NYPD, along with our law enforcement partners, remain vigilant,” she said.
Beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sixth Avenue will be closed to all traffic from 34th to 42nd streets, including all crosstown traffic, Tisch said.
Starting at 10:30 a.m., the closure will extend from 42nd to 55th streets, until the end of the festivities.
During the parade, pedestrians will only be able to cross at 39th Street, 42nd Street, 45th Street, 48th Street and 51st Street, and only authorized vehicles will be permitted to enter the route.
