The St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New Haven is Sunday. The route is already full of green, white and orange flags but this year there’s one tradition that will be missing from the streets, booze!
New haven police are serious about enforcing the law that prohibits drinking in the streets during the parade. They say it's the best to turn the parade back into a family affair, “were going to try and take a soft approach were going to send officer out there early on as parade goers start arriving we're hoping to make them bring their coolers back to their cars,” Officer Joseph Avery of the New Haven Police Department.
If that doesn't work police say little white tickets will as big a part as the 6Th oldest parade in the nation at its four leaf clovers, “we have 200 books of tickets standing by.”
170 officers will man the parade route, 50 will be in enforcing the “no drinking outside" law. It's a plan that police hope, could make this years, the perfect St. Paddy's Parade for everyone.
“It’s primarily for the families and this will make them feel more comfortable to watch the parade see the floats and take part in everything and then leave the nightlife behavior to the inside,” explains Lauren Siegel, manager of The Lansdowne Bar and Grill on Crown Street.
In fact Siegel believes it’s a blessing in disguise, “I think it’s going to be a huge bump because people are going to want to be inside and they're going to be little more liable to stay in one area instead of bouncing from bar to bar.”
The 200-thousand people expected need somewhere to take cover, why not a dry bar serving green beer,” it's probably one of the few times in the year that we have to turns people away because we are at capacity,” says Siegel.
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Parade starts at 1:00 pm rain or shine!
