BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Irish eyes will be smiling across Buffalo this weekend. Two annual St. Patrick’s Day parades will be taking place. That has Buffalo Police gearing up to keep paradegoers safe.
7 News Senior Reporter Eileen Buckley learned as thousands line the parade routes, law enforcement will be keeping watch.
"We get tens of thousands of people that come out to this parade, and this is the largest event that we plan for every year,” noted Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, Buffalo Police Department.
I caught up with Commissioner Gramaglia on Thursday along Delaware Avenue. He tells me a "significant amount" of planning goes into this parade.
“The main parade on Delaware, brings out the most amount of resources that our department has to offer,” described Gramaglia. “We’ll see a significant amount of uniformed presence. We also have our swat teams out, not just our team, we have other technical teams, county, state other side so you know, we bring in that mutual aid, have other technical teams for that overwatch and to have them mobile throughout the streets as well and that's for everybody's protection.”
Also keeping an eye on things, surveillance cameras and new this year six new UTVs will be rolled out at the parade.
“You're going to see them up and down the parade route. They're also going to be used after because we certainly know after the parade -- the partying continues, but that those UTVs are going to help us get around where police cars have a lot more difficult time getting around so you know, you're going to see them all out there,” explained Gramaglia.
"In Buffalo, the parade has been a huge part of this community for decades and decades and the police department does an excellent job of making sure that everyone that attends it is safe,” remarked Jeff Rinaldo, partner, Vista Security in Amherst.
Rinaldo a former Buffalo Police captain and now a security expert, tells me paradegoers must also play a role.
“Ultimately people have to understand that if they're in an event, if they're attending something, and suddenly they just don't feel like they're safe, or they noticed something going on or disturbance starting to get away from it,” replied Rinaldo.
“What do you want us, as citizens, that come to the parade to do,” asked Buckley.
“First and foremost, behave. Enjoy yourselves. Have a good time. That's what we want. but we also want you to be cognizant of the laws. we want you to be cognizant of the people around you. Be patient, understand that, you know, there's going to be traffic congestions and other things, but be vigilant and look around if you see something that old saying you see something say something grab a police officer,” answered Gramaglia.
I asked both men about their concerns when it comes to gun violence and active shooters at public events.
“I can tell you there's a lot of monitoring of social media. There's a lot of working with federal agencies that law enforcement does ahead of these events to ensure that there's no type of threats being made, or specifics being put out there,” Rinaldo commented.
“How much do you worry about that?” Buckley asked the police commissioner. “I mean, it's a daily concern that we deal with. It's also obviously a concern when you're in you know, a large crowd environment and all these things are soft targets,” Gramaglia replied.
The 29th Annual "Old Neighborhood" St. Patrick's Day Parade kicks off at noon, Saturday, March 16h beginning at South Park and Elk Street at the Valley Community Center. Streets will be closed to traffic by 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The parade will be followed by celebrations with music and food.
Sunday, the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade sponsored by the United Irish American Association (UIAA) kicks off on Delaware Avenue starting at 2 p.m. in downtown Buffalo.
WATCH: Here's what the weather will look like for St. Patrick's Day
If you don't plan to attend the parade on Sunday, you can watch it live on the 7 WKBW Facebook page, website, mobile app, and on your favorite streaming device.
