Here They Come! U.S. Women's Soccer Team Ready To Rock New York City
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The confetti will be flying when the city holds a parade for the U.S. women's soccer team to celebrate its World Cup victory.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration announced Tuesday that the parade has been scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. in lower Manhattan, along Broadway from the Battery to City Hall, known as the "Canyon of Heroes." The celebration will include a program at City Hall.
Live parade coverage with Kim Jones, Chris Lopresti and Glenn Crooks will air on WFAN beginning at 11 a.m. Friday.
U.S. Women's Soccer Team Ready To Rock New York City
The U.S. defeated Japan 5-2 on Sunday in Canada for its record third world championship. The Americans were feted at a rally in Los Angeles and have been invited to the White House.
According to CBS2's Marcia Kramer, there have been 205 parades through the Canyon of Heroes dating to 1886, honoring, among others, sports teams, astronauts, war heroes and heads of state. The Yankees, for example, have gotten parades when they've won the World Series, and the Giants have been celebrated when they've won the Super Bowl, most recently in 2012.
Even though the women's soccer team is a national team and not a local one, the outcry to honor the players with a parade had been fervent. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer wrote to de Blasio, saying the women were excellent examples and it was a good opportunity to honor a women's team.
One woman told WCBS 880's Sean Adams that Friday's parade sends a message to young girls that "you can do anything, whether it's sports, the business world, college."
Here They Come! U.S. Women's Soccer Team Ready To Rock New York City
The last parade held in honor of a woman was in 1960, for Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Carol Heiss.
The events have been known as ticker-tape parades, thanks to the ticker tape showered down upon those being celebrated from people in the nearby buildings. The tape was eventually replaced by paper confetti.
At City Hall on Wednesday, crews were setting up the stage, lights and risers for the World Cup parade, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported.
NYC Preps For World Cup Parade
"We're seeing just an incredible enthusiasm for this team in particular," said mayoral spokesman Phil Walzak. "I think we saw that TV ratings for the World Cup game exceeded those of the NBA Finals and other sports championship events."
City and state officials are among the invited guests. There will also be some surprise guests, Walzak said.
Meanwhile, the NYPD is taking no chances with security for the parade, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
NYPD Working On Security For Parade
"This event will have a complex counterterrorism overlay," said John Miller, deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism. "That's part of the new normal. We do that for all major public events."
Miller pointed out it's a short route in lower Manhattan, which has the highest saturation of cameras in the city. The cameras and assigned officers will give the NYPD many eyes.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton is urging paradegoers to leave their cars at home.
"Relatively congested, short route, unlike the marathons, etc., so the public needs to keep that in mind," he told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria. "And reinforcing that idea of using public transportation or public transportation immediately adjacent to the area so you can walk in."
As for the cost of the parade, Walzak said, "The cost total is about $2 million -- $1.5 million is from the city and another half million from private sponsorships."
While most people Kramer spoke with said they didn't mind the city footing most of the bill, there were some who weren't as enthused.
Community activist Tony Herbert, for example, had a long list of things he said the city should spend the money on instead.
"Getting these people jobs; community recreational centers. We have to stop the violence in our streets. That money can go to that," Herbert said.
The city is holding a raffle for 3,000 tickets to the post-parade celebration on the steps of City Hall. Winners are to be notified by email or phone starting Thursday at 10:30 a.m., Kramer reported.
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