US: Officials to implement heightened security, road closures in parts of New York City during Israel Day on Fifth Parade June 2.

Authorities will maintain a very tight security posture in central New York City on June 2 during the city's annual Israel Day on Fifth Parade. The event, which will run between the hours of 11:30-16:00, is sponsored by several local Israeli-American and Jewish civil society organizations; it typically draws very large crowds of participants and spectators. Organizers expect at least 40,000 attendees.

Parade participants will march down 5th Avenue from 62nd to 74th Street. Numerous road closures will be in effect in Manhattan's Midtown, Lenox Hill, and Upper East Side neighborhoods between 52nd and 79th streets, as well as between 5th and Lexington avenues. Spectators will be limited to designated viewing locations, with police officers performing security checks. With the 2024 parade taking place against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, authorities anticipate that anti-Israel and/or pro-Palestine groups could attempt to demonstrate or otherwise disrupt the event; nevertheless, security officials have indicated that they have as yet detected no specific threat to the parade.

Security deployments will probably begin several hours before the start of the parade and could remain in effect for several hours after it ends. Significant traffic disruptions are likely in the affected neighborhoods of the city, as are localized business disruptions.