Albany's St. Patrick’s Day Parade is Saturday. Officials expect a good turnout for the 73rd annual march.
Speaking at City Hall Thursday, Mayor Kathy Sheehan says preparations for the family friendly event are underway.
“We actually host two St. Patrick's Day parades here in Albany, the North Albany parade will begin at 11:30, which is actually a half hour earlier than normal," said Sheehan. "So for those of you who like to watch the North Albany parade, just be mindful that it is starting at 11:30. And we will be kicking off from the North Albany American Legion Post number one on North Street, I mean, North First Street, which is our usual spot. So looking forward to that and then we will be kicking off at 2 p.m. the 73rd annual St. Patrick's Day parade at the corner of Quail and Central Avenue. The parade will be marching all the way down Central Avenue to State Street.”
Central Avenue will be closed at noon Saturday until the parade wraps up around 4 p.m. Police Chief Eric Hawkins advises motorists to seek other routes.
“So if you're traveling to the area for the parade, I encourage you to leave early," Hawkins said. "If you have to be in the area for some other business, I encourage you to find some other alternate route around the area, there'll be a lot of congestion. And anyone who was in that area, we're urging you to be respectful, and to be patient, and to be understanding of those who will be pedestrians and motorists in that area.”
Hawkins says officers will strictly enforce the open container law, which forbids drinking in public. And he asks parade-goers to keep an eye out for trouble, and if you see something say something.
Department of General Services Commissioner Sergio Panunzio says his department has been very busy the last couple of days...
“We've been following our directives from the police and fire, we've been setting up barricades, cleaning up the streets, making sure potholes from the last snowstorm are filled on the parade route," said Panunzio. "We ask everybody to come out and enjoy a beautiful day. It's gonna be a great day to be Irish. And we want people to be conscious of neighborhoods ,make sure that if you're standing on the stoop, to view the parade, make sure you clean up and use the receptacles they'll be out there on the parade route, thank you, and post parade. We will have a crew ready to wrap it up.z”
Mayor Sheehan says after COVID and other anomalies she's confident the parade will step off without a hitch.
“This year, we're really looking forward to having the opportunity to have it happen on the traditional parade day," Sheehan said. "Last year, we as you know, I stood here and said we are going to march rain or shine or snow and it turned out that we had quite the snowstorm, so it was postponed by a week. So I think we are all looking forward to, after the cancellations, the postponements ,to having parade the parade on parade day and to continue this tradition not only for the city of Albany but really, this is the parade for the entire Capital Region that people look forward to.”
2023 Road Closures
Parade Staging & Lineup:
- Starting at 12:00pm (Noon), Central Avenue between Manning Boulevard and Quail Street will be closed for parade lineup
- Beginning at 1:00pm, the entire parade route will be closed to ALL traffic
The parade will require the following road closures:
- Central Avenue from Manning Boulevard east to Washington Avenue
- Washington Avenue from Central Avenue east to Washington Avenue/Eagle Street/State Street
- State Street from Washington Avenue/Eagle Street east to Broadway
ALL cross streets along the parade route will be closed in preparation for parade kick off. This will include Eagle Street as well as North and South Pearl Streets from Pine Street to Hudson Avenue.
2023 Parking Restrictions
Parking will be restricted at the following locations from 6:00am - 4:00pm:
Central Avenue, both sides from Ontario Street to Lake Avenue;
Quail Street, east and west sides from Bradford Street to Sherman Street
- Washington Avenue, north side from Dove Street to South Swan Street
- Eagle Street, east side from State Street to Pine Street
- State Street, north and south sides from Lark Street east 3 spaces on each side
- State Street, north and south sides from South Swan Street east to Plaza Road east of Legislative Office Building
- State Street, south side from Eagle Street to Broadway
- State Street, north side from Pearl Street to Broadway
- South Swan Street, east side from Madison Avenue to Washington Avenue
- Broadway, east and west sides from Pine Street to Hudson Avenue
- Green Street both sides from State Street to Madison Avenue
- Dallius Street, both sides from Hudson Avenue to Division Street
- South Swan Street, east side from Madison Avenue to Washington Avenue
