Via NBC:
Thousands of revelers decked out in shamrocks and all shades of green lined Fifth Avenue Thursday morning for New York City’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Spectators lined the parade route long before that and security will be tight. Security preparations began Wednesday and barricades were set up early Thursday. NYPD tow trucks moved vehicles too.This is the 255th St. Patrick’s Day parade in the city, which has the largest and oldest one in the world.
The parade goes up Fifth Avenue beginning at East 44th Street and ending at East 79th Street, drawing in some 2 million spectators along its 35-block stretch and prompting some street closures.