{"id":119007,"date":"2026-02-01T13:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T13:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/119007\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T13:53:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T13:53:27","slug":"staten-island-leaders-hold-meeting-on-st-patricks-day-parade-safety-a-year-after-delinquency-spoiled-the-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/119007\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island leaders hold meeting on St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade safety a year after delinquency \u2018spoiled\u2019 the celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Enjoying a traditional Irish drink may boost the mood at the annual Staten Island St. Patrick\u2019s Parade,<\/a> but the celebration can sometimes go too far. Last year was a stark example, when underage drinking \u201csullied\u201d an otherwise vibrant tribute to the borough\u2019s deeply rooted Irish heritage.<\/p>\n

In anticipation of this year\u2019s parade, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon and Borough President Vito Fossella convened a meeting to discuss how local officials can ensure a safe and orderly procession for all.<\/p>\n

The meeting, hosted at Borough Hall in St. George on Wednesday, brought together law enforcement officials, school principals and business owners alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many ways, the Staten Island St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade is the crown jewel and signature event of the year for our borough,\u201d McMahon said. \u201cA stunning celebration of Irish heritage and community pride, thousands upon thousands of our neighbors flock to Forest Avenue each year to enjoy and take part in the parade\u2019s festivities. And while last year\u2019s parade was a monumental success, and historic in its nature<\/a>, for many local residents, the spirit of the day was sullied and spoiled by disorderly conduct<\/a>, underage drinking, and delinquency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing proactive is the key to a successful parade and I was proud to partner with Borough President Fossella to bring together the parade\u2019s organizers, local businesses and civic organizations, school principals, and our partners in the NYPD and New York City Parks Department to ensure a safe parade for all,\u201d he added. \u201cFrom bolstering police presence and implementing additional public safety measures to increasing communication and coordination with our borough\u2019s schools and businesses, we are committed to ensuring that this year\u2019s St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade is our borough\u2019s best yet, and under no circumstances will we allow hooligans and lawbreakers to take away from this incredibly meaningful and joyous community event.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"St.District Attorney Michael E. McMahon and Borough President Vito Fossella convened a meeting to discuss how local officials can ensure a safe and orderly St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The meeting was held at Borough Hall in St. George on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.(Courtesy of the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office)<\/p>\n

In attendance were Ed Patterson, parade organizer; NYPD Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, Staten Island\u2019s borough commander; Commanding Officer of the 120th Precinct Inspector Eric Waldhelm; NYC Parks Department Borough Commissioner Joseph Homsey; and the owners\/staff of Sally\u2019s Southern, Randall Manor Tavern, Duffy\u2019s, Doc Hennigans and Moretti\u2019s Bakery. <\/p>\n

A handful of local school principals also joined the meeting alongside representatives from the Forest Avenue BID, the Staten Island Business Outreach Center, the Castleton Avenue Merchants, the Forest Regional Residents\u2019 Civic Association and Adrienne Abbate from Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness. Representatives from State Sen. Andrew Lanza, State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo\u2019s offices were also in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Staten Island St. Patrick\u2019s Parade is one of the best parades in the country,\u201d said Fossella. \u201cTens of thousands of people come to Forest Avenue every year to celebrate Irish heritage and the many contributions made by Irish-Americans that make Staten Island the great community we all enjoy. It is a point of pride as Staten Islanders, and one that we have enjoyed marching in, year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, last year, a number of young people took part in some borderline illegal activities that, in certain locations, disrupted the festivities for attendees, businesses, and residents of West Brighton,\u201d the borough president added. \u201cThese situations caused us to get together with DA McMahon, the organizers of the parade, NYPD, NYC Parks Police, and local schools, businesses, civics and other organizations to work proactively and put the focus back where it belongs – the peaceful and enjoyable celebration that this parade has always been. We believe this year\u2019s parade will be a true celebration and a big success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"St.District Attorney Michael E. McMahon and Borough President Vito Fossella convened a meeting at Borough Hall in St. George on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, to discuss how local officials can ensure a safe and orderly St. Patrick’s Day Parade.(Courtesy of the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office)<\/p>\n

The first such meeting to address concerns over underage drinking and disruptive behavior at the parade was held at McMahon\u2019s office in St. George in April of 2025.<\/p>\n

There, local officials, parade organizers and community stakeholders discussed strategies to mitigate excessive and underage drinking in the years that followed, according to the Richmond County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

The few who ruin it for the many<\/p>\n

Although the 61st annual St. Patrick\u2019s Day Parade was a jubilant celebration for thousands who lined Forest Avenue last year, many West Brighton residents and business owners had to put up with messy masses of intoxicated individuals, many of whom were underage.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver a hundred kids\u201d gathered like a \u201cflash mob\u201d in the vicinity of Forest and Bard avenues, Neil Anastasio, president of the Forest Regional Residents\u2019 Civic Association, previously told the Advance\/SILive.com. Anastasio, who lives steps away from the location, said he personally witnessed not only numerous young people attempting to urinate and defecate on his property, but also observed many who appeared to be severely inebriated and carrying around large containers of what he could only assume was alcohol.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level of drunkenness and the level of young kids just out of control was ridiculous,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Photos taken at a CVS parking lot in the area the day of the parade last year captured the NYPD at the scene taking at least one young male into custody, though it was not immediately clear for what or whether he was charged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of kids drinking and acting up, up and down the street,\u201d a convenience store owner along the parade route told the Advance\/SILive.com last year.<\/p>\n

Others who contacted the Advance\/SILive.com after the parade reported witnessing similar behavior and underage drinking on other residential streets and in Silver Lake Park as early as 9 a.m. on the day of the procession.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Enjoying a traditional Irish drink may boost the mood at the annual Staten Island…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-119007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}