Yonkers police, businesses share safety plan ahead of St. Patrick's Day weekend
McLean Avenue in Yonkers has become a popular destination for people to celebrate the season of St. Patrick.
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McLean Avenue in Yonkers has become a popular destination for people to celebrate the season of St. Patrick.
Ger Leen, of Ireland, said he was going to go "to a few pubs" along the street to mark the holiday.
Several others will probably do the same, so Yonkers police shared how they plan to keep people safe. The city has dealt with at least four violent incidents since the start of the month.
"We'll have a security presence with numerous patrols on St. Patrick's Day in the area of McLean Avenue," said Deputy Chief Richard Alaimo.
Alaimo said the department is also preparing for the parade on March 22.
"During the parade, we're going to utilize DPW's heavy trucks to block off certain sections. We'll have an extra emergency service truck out there, we'll also have Empress ambulance with numerous ambulances out there and we'll have the traffic unit making sure that the avenues to and from the parade are all secure," Alaimo added.
Officials predict that thousands of people will be in attendance at the parade.
"With a crowd this size and a parade that's just grown by the year, and unfortunately [with] the world that we are living in right now, we really have to take seriously the safety of the parade," said parade co-chair Deirdre O'Mara.
Majella O'Shaughnessy, the manager of a restaurant and bar called Rory Dolan's, said they're also doing their part to keep people safe.
"So, we have security on day and night. We ID everyone at the door, so nobody under 21 can get in," O'Shaughnessy said.
Employees at K & K Gourmet Deli said they will use a camera system to monitor activity at their store. However, they added that they're feeling good about nothing going wrong on the green day and its big weekend ahead.
"This street particularly has always been like really calm, everybody helps everybody,"
