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Times Square
Thanksgiving Day Parade Letter to the Mayor
Community Board Five wishes to express its concern about the possibility of a route change for next year's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has become a New York tradition beloved by residents and visitors alike for many generations. There is simply no public space in the city that rivals Times Square in terms of its energy, identification as the heart of New York City to the world and to the millions who watch the television broadcast and attend the parade in person.
We understand that The Hotel Association of New York City has verified that there are 7,244 hotel rooms facing the parade route on Seventh Avenue that are utilized by guests during the parade day and during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. We also wish to mention that Times Square is home to numerous advertising billboards which give the district its unique character and help to promote the city and this area as the advertising capital of America. These advertisers consider the exposure of the Thanksgiving Parade to be a major asset in their advertising campaigns. Changing the parade route would significantly impact on these important businesses
In addition, the creation of the new Broadway Plaza now allows for maximizing the number of parade viewers as well as increasing the quality of their experience. Press coverage of this year's parade stressed that the plazas offered better street views than in recent years,
Community Board Five would therefore like to request that all efforts be made to enable the Thanksgiving Day Parade to continue its traditional route through Times Square. We feel that changing the parade route would significantly impact on several key businesses in the Times Square neighborhood and deny New York City and Times Square of an important moment of exposure to the world.
Keeping the parade route through Times Square makes good business sense and we hope [the City of New York] understands our concern about its possible loss.