Stewart Manor streets once again became water balloon battlegrounds as hundreds came out for the town’s annual Fourth of July parade. But for the first time in over a quarter century, Floral Park was dry.
The Stewart Manor Fire Department kicked off the 4th of July weekend with its annual parade, but for the first time in the parade’s 26-year history, the route was altered. The festivities were not allowed to follow their normal Covert Avenue route or enter Floral Park, following Floral Park’s repeated denial of the fire department’s street closure request.
Floral Park cited liability concerns about potential water balloon injuries and concerns about the costs associated with providing police and other village support to an event from outside the village on their streets as reasons why they denied the permit.
James Kelly, the fire department’s public information officer and the mayor of Stewart Manor, said the department worked to adapt after being told no.
“Every year there are a couple of curveballs one way or another, and you just deal with them,” Kelly said. “That’s what we do as a department, we deal with curveballs.”
Kelly, the department’s former chief, said that following a review of the feedback for this year’s parade, efforts could be made to return the parade to its regular Floral Park route in the future.
The change in the route left many residents frustrated on the Stewart Manor fire department’s social media, announcing the alteration with the new route, excluding streets where people used to throw water balloons and watch the vehicles. The department advised those who traditionally view the parade from Stewart or Covert Avenue to consider switching to Dover Parkway or Cambridge Avenue.
Fire department Chief Nabeel Arain explained his concerns about increased crowding due to a more limited route. The news of the permit denial came weeks before the event, and he described the news as upsetting.
“It’s not ideal, but it seemed like a lot of good times,” said Arain. “There were a lot of people unhappy about it, a lot of people [on] the northern side of the town were excluded because of it…and the crowding of people in the smaller area could be really dangerous.”
The decision to deny the street closures was on account of concerns over the parade’s liability with floats throwing water balloons at attendees, according to Floral Park Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald.
The village also had financial concerns with the cost of overtime for their respective fire department as well as additional expenditures that come with the event, which they initially requested Stewart Manor take on, according to Arain.
Despite the setback, the parade kicked off on Friday at 10:30 from the corner of Salisbury Avenue and the eastern end of Covert Avenue, with hundreds watching the string of fire trucks and vehicles donated for the event by neighboring organizations.
“Number one, we are celebrating our country and our independence, and number two, it brings the community together,” said Arain. “It’s a tradition the people of our community and surrounding communities cherish in my opinion, they look forward to it every year. In our current climate, there are not a lot of social activities that bring a town together; this is one of them.”
Those who wanted to participate in the watery battle stood in the designated wet zones where those riding on top of the vehicles and attendees exchanged a barrage of water balloons.
The route continued down Dover Parkway, Cambridge Avenue and Tulip Avenue and concluded at the parking lot next to the fire department building at the corner of Tulip and Covert Avenue.
It was there that there was a post-parade celebration with a stage for speakers and a musical performance by the band “Joe Hampton & The Kingpins.” Also present were tents selling annual t-shirts for the event, a beer fundraiser for the department, a food truck, and a water dunk game where kids tried to knock down firefighters into a vat of water.
Kelly said the parade hopes to double in scale next year for the village’s 100th anniversary in two years. The department is ready to prioritize safety and deal with any future setbacks.
