On Sunday, May 5th visitors to the city found the following events taking place
1. 30,000 bikers taking part in a 42 mile Bike New York event starting in lower Manhattan , moving up to Central Park and ending in Staten Island
2. A Salute to Israel parade up 5th Avenue that drew 100,000 marchers and an estimated 700,000 spectators.
3. About 600 Palestinian protestors gathered at Grand Army Plaza at 59th Street near Central Park
4. A Cuban Day parade that marched up 6th Avenue
5. An "El Cinco de Mayo" street fair in East Harlem.
Is there another city that could survive such a day?

It must have made for an interesting day, especially for visitors. For locals it wasn't the best of days if you had to get around in the city.

I was in the city on Sunday and got delayed a bit by the bike event. Not complaining though. It was great to see the city so alive. Right after 9/11 you kind of wondered if things would ever be this way again.

I was across the river in Hoboken listening to Roger Mc Guinn at the Music & Craft Fest
That was really great

New Yorker here caught totally off guard by the bike event...on my way to LGA, cab had to drive all the way up to 138th street to even get near the Triboro Bridge. Then the FDR was closed off for much of upper Manhattan, so traffic to 125th Street was a mess. Fortunately, I had left earlier than usual.

If the numbers reported above are even close to being accurate it boggles the mind that more people were involved in these events than in 99% of the cities,towns and villages worldwide.

We (from DC) spent the weekend in NYC. Stayed on Staten Island. Most of those 30,000 bikers seemed to be on the 8.00 a.m. boat from the island!! Apart from having to go to the furthest car park (at the stadium) we weren't inconvenienced at all but then we weren't trying to drive round in NY. Sunday was a beautiful day - we went on the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island boat, went to a couple of flea markets near the Flatiron, walked round Greeenwich Village. Saturday night we went to "Oklahoma" (theater full). The city seemed to be packed with locals and tourists alike. It was our first visit since 9/11 and we were pleased to see the city looking so alive.

Wasn't there a Yankee game as well?

honestly, who cares?

I care! I'll be spending a long weekend in NYC over the summer, and frankly I'd prefer to choose a weekend that was NOT having a big parade on every other block. Is there some web site whre we can find out this stuff way in advance --- maybe the agency that gives out parade permits?

Suzy: Try http://newyork.citysearch.com/
Don't worry about too much activity going on when you visit. If you were in Times
Square you wouldn't have known there was a major parade on 6th Avenue one block away. You wouldn't have had any difficulty walking around or using public transportation. The major impact was on taxi and auto travel if you were going crosstown anywhere along the parade route.

zz's point is well taken. I was herading into the city to meet with a friend for dinner and a movie (a real live date...wow!). She had warned me about the activity and I was a bit concerned but my total trip time from my NJ apt to being parked in Chelsea at 8th Ave and 20th St was about 20 minutes. It's all a function of where you're going in the city or what route you're coming in on. If you're approaching the city by car start checking 880AM and 1010AM radio regularly - they both have traffic update every ten minutes and are good about pointing out the delays.

Yes, there was also a Yankee Game! And several Proms/Graduation events. The city was crazy but that will just prepare us more for the day we are chosen to host summer olympics! See ya then.

Suzy,
There are street fairs and/or parades every single weekend throughout the summer. There are also races/charity walks in Central Park about every other weekend. This past weekend, however, was very unusual...there were warnings all over the radio/newspapers for days in advance. There's only the one bike tour a year (I was on it!) and the one Marathon (November). But the parades can be crazy. The Puerto Rican Day Parade is, I believe, Jun 8 or 9th - this is a very very big one...stay away from 5th Avenue & the Upper East Side and Central Park if you want to avoid it.

Do you know what weekend you're coming in? How are you getting into the city? Maybe I can help some more.

Suzy, Most,but not all, parades and street fairs are listed here under "major events"
http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/major.html
the official NYC website (yes, you're right, it's based on permits given out)

For the most part, the big parades/charity races/ street fairs are in May, June, and September. July and August slow down a bit--though there are lots of smaller street fairs that close avenues (but 8-10 blocks instead of 20+ blocks)
The 5 borough bike race (last weekend) and the NYC Marathon (in November) are the main events that close multiple roadways in all boroughs

Hi there... I am planning a visit from London to NYC from Weds 22 May until Sat 25 May and am after any good tips on where to go and what to see... I've been once before and have seen most of the usual tourist sites. Was hoping to see Yankees game but they aren't playing while I'm there.

Would appreciate any other similar experiences... thanks very much in advance....x