The time-honored and beloved New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade steps off this coming Monday, and leading the charge this time around is a grand marshal with deep history with the local community.
Michael A. Benn has been tapped to serve as grand marshal of the 264th edition of the popular parade.
Born in Limerick City, Ireland, Been has been a mainstay of the New York community for decades, after moving to the United States as a teen. He went to high school in the Bronx, where he met his wife Christina and eventually built a family not far away in Rockaway Beach. Benn also happens to be the longtime chairman of the Queens County St. Patrick's Parade.
"When you say grand marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, it’s like Mount Everest, you know? I’m never gonna climb up that mountain," Benn said a week before the big day.
Many in the Rockaway community known Benn well, especially after Superstorm Sandy devastated the area. In 2013, just months after Sandy struck, Benn helped make sure the Queens County St. Patrick's Day Parade went on, despite the destruction.
"Everybody was down here and they loved it. It brought the spirit, you know, esprit de corps, back into our community," he recalled.
Benn says he's ready to bring that fighting spirit to Fifth Avenue on Monday, leading the familiar sights and sounds of the Irish and continuing a tradition hundreds of years old.
The parade is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Eastern Time and run until 3 p.m. The parade will begin on Fifth Avenue at 44th Street and end on Fifth Avenue at 79th Street.
How do I watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade?
Viewers can watch the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade over-the-air broadcast on WNBC from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and over-the-air coverage on Cozi TV from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Full coverage of the parade will also be available on NBCNewYork.com and in the NBC New York app for iOS and Android devices.
In addition, viewers can watch the entire parade on the NBC New York streaming channel, which is available on a dedicated Peacock channel, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Xumo Play, Amazon Fire, Google TV, Freevee, TCL and Local Now.
How do I get to the St. Patrick's Day Parade?
LIRR and Metro-North plan on adding additional trains to and from Manhattan for paradegoers heading to the parade and heading home.
MTA is advising parade-goers to utilize the 4/5/6 lines, which have stops along the full parade route.
Where is the best place to watch the parade in person?
Parade organizers said anywhere along 5th Avenue is a good place to watch and the earlier you get there on Saturday, the better.
Heineken USA’s first woman CEO talks about serving as the first woman of an executive beer company as well as the Grand Marshall for New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. NBC New York’s Gilma Avalos reports.
