Newsday.com

New 'We're Honoring Our Heroes' at Columbus Day Parade Monday

By Merle English Staff Writer

October 6, 2001

Fifth Avenue will be awash in red, white and blue when the Columbus Day Parade steps off tomorrow, with special tribute being paid to the thousands killed in the World Trade Center tragedy, the firefighters and police officers who died trying to save them and the recovery workers still working doggedly amid the devastation.

“We’re honoring our heroes,” said Max Di Fabio, who chairs the Parade Committee of the Italian Citizens Foundation, which organizes the 57-year-old event. “We’re expecting a tremendous turnout and are receiving a huge volume of support. We’re showing the terrorists we’re not beaten by any means.”

The city remains on a heightened state of alert, with extra officers assigned to major events such as tomorrow’s parade, which begins at noon.

While the Police Department will not say how many more cops are detailed along the parade route, sources said there will be a noticeable increase. The officers have been told to watch for any unusual behavior and to keep an eye out for any suspicious packages that someone might leave on the street or along the route.

Among the 35,000 expected to march are state and city officials, foreign dignitaries, military bands from Italy and other countries, champion high school bands, the U.S. Naval Submarine Marching Band, the U.S. Corps of Cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Broadway performers.

Organizers anticipate 500,000 spectators to be lined along Fifth Avenue. The parade will start at 44th Street and end at 79th Street. Two million more are expected to view the parade via a live broadcast on Channel 4, organizers said.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is expected to lead the parade as he has in previous years during his mayoralty. Bobby Valentine, manager of the New York Mets, will be the grand marshal.

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, organizers said, there was no question the parade in Manhattan would take place.

Columbus Day parades in Queens and Brooklyn were canceled because organizers couldn’t muster the will to plan them. Instead, they are arranging Masses in recognition of the holiday. The Columbus Day Parade in the Bronx steps off at noon tomorrow at Morris Park Avenue and White Plains Road.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2001