After being rebuffed by the Village of Floral Park twice, the Stewart Manor Fire Department rerouted its longstanding parade to preserve it.
This year the parade, which has been running for over 25 years, won’t turn down its typical Covert Avenue route or step foot into Floral Park at all, according to the Village of Floral Park and the Stewart Manor Fire Department.
The rerouting decision, announced by the fire department over the weekend, comes after Floral Park denied their permit request to close down the streets along their typical parade route in the village twice.
Floral Park Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald has said his village chose to deny the permit because of concerns over liability and costs for the village.
Since the parade involves people on floats throwing water balloons down onto the street, Fitzgerald said the village was concerned it would be liable for any potential injury that occurred on its streets. He said the village also did not want to devote its police and sanitation resources to the parade since it was not a Floral Park event, but a Stewart Manor one.
For the first time in years, the parade will only march through the Village of Stewart Manor.
Its 2025 route, which kicks off at 10:30 a.m. from the corner of Salisbury Avenue and the eastern end of Covert Avenue, will continue down Dover Parkway, to Cambridge Avenue to Tulip Avenue. The parade will end at the corner of Tulip Avenue at Covert Avenue.
“No portion of the parade will take place on the traditional Covert Avenue route,” the fire department’s post said. It added that no water balloons would be allowed on any part of Covert Avenue.
“We’re committed to keeping this beloved tradition alive—not just for our village’s 100th anniversary next year, but for generations to come,” the Stewart Manor Fire Department wrote in a post on Facebook. “Your continued support and cooperation are deeply appreciated.”
The fire department cautioned that additional crowding would take place along the new route and that Floral Park residents who typically view the parade from Covert Avenue or Stewart Avenue should consider viewing it from Dover Parkway, between Chester Avenue and Cambridge Avenue, or Cambridge Avenue from Dover Parkway to Tulip Avenue.
Under the department’s Facebook post, people expressed dismay with the route change in the comments, asking the department why the route and water balloon policy were changed and why residents were not notified earlier.
The Village of Floral Park and the Village of Stewart Manor both declined to provide any additional comment.
Additional reporting by Amit Ben-Bassat.
