The 264th New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade rolls through Manhattan Monday at 11 a.m.
Grand Marshall Michael A. Benn, the chairman of the Queens County St. Patrick’s Parade Committee in Rockaway, will lead 150,000 marchers up Fifth Ave. from E. 44th St. to E. 79th St.
Event organizers expect two million spectators, many dressed in green, to line the parade route in support of the bagpipe players, drummers, dancer and walkers participating. Attendees wishing to be close to the action are advised to arrive as early as possible and stake a spot. Festivities wind down around 4:30 p.m.
Those who can’t make it to Midtown can watch the parade live on NBC, where coverage begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The event will stream on www.nycstpatricksparade.org. The MTA plans to run at least 11 extra commuter trains Monday. Alcoholic beverages will not be allowed on those trains.
Monday morning rain is expected to end shortly before the parade gets underway, giving way to temperatures in the mid-50s. At any rate “the Parade has marched in a variety of meteorologic conditions that have included various examples of inclemency,” according to the parade website.
There are no portable bathrooms along the route.
First held on March 17, 1762, the city’s St. Patty celebration is billed as “the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the world.”
All units participating are required to have an American flag on the right side of their assembly and an Irish flag on the left or no flags at all.
The parade follows an 8:30 a.m. St. Patrick’s Day Mass from St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Ave. at E. 50th St. That service will air live on the Catholic Faith Network, which will replay the mass at 6:30 p.m.