Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade proceeds despite snow flurries, protests

Helium giants floated along the canyons of midtown Manhattan's high-rises yesterday to the cheers of thousands at the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, even as demonstrators and a social media campaign about race relations threatened to disrupt it.

Seven people were arrested in scuffles between police and #StopTheParade protesters angry about the decision by a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, to not indict a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man.

The parade, with musical performances, floats and new balloon characters, proceeded from Central Park to the Macy's flagship store at 34th Street under clouds, scattered snow flurries and temperatures near 40.

Tyce Perry, 9, of Kings Park, and his mother, Jeannine Perry, 37, an elementary school teacher, waited at Sixth Avenue and West 45th Street for their favorite floats.

"We come every year," Jeannine Perry said. "He loves 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' . . . I just wait for Santa."

John and Patricia Brady, real estate agents from Hampton Bays, supported their two daughters on their shoulders. This was their second time at the parade and the first with their youngest, Sophia, 3. "We just waited until they were old enough."

Leading the parade was Little League pitcher Mo'ne Ikea Davis, 13, of Philadelphia, who threw a shutout for the Taney Dragons during the Little League World Series in August.

SEE PHOTOSMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade photos through the years

The parade featured 16 helium balloons, some three-stories tall, including new characters Paddington Bear, Thomas the Tank Engine and lava-spewing Eruptor from Skylanders.

But as thousands watched the parade with delight, protester Katherine Brezler said she was behind barricades along 37th Street when four demonstrators near her were arrested.

"America needs to have a conversation about racism," Brezler said in a telephone interview.

Police arrested six people accused of disorderly conduct and one charged with unlawful assembly, and one person was issued a summons for disorderly conduct, NYPD officials said last night.

Despite a campaign on Facebook and Twitter to stop the parade, the protests did not disrupt the 88th annual event.

The Reisman family of Roslyn Heights went to the parade after attending the National Law Enforcement and Firefighters Children's Foundation 14th Annual Thanksgiving Breakfast with about 1,300 other family members of first responders killed or disabled in the line of duty.

Thursday marked the first Thanksgiving since their father and husband Steven, a firefighter who worked the pile at Ground Zero, died of cancer.

Michael Reisman, 18, who was with his mother Joanna, 53, and sister Natalie, 14, said the family was still thankful.

"We've been supportive of each other" in the holiday season, he said. "Sadly we won't be able to celebrate that with our father anymore."

Michael, a freshman studying physics at the University of Chicago, received two scholarships totaling $3,000 from the organization in recognition of academic excellence, community service and financial need.

Rich Belkin, 57, and his son, David, 25, both of Bay Shore, reflected on the traditions that have grown out of years attending the parade.

"My son, we used to take him from age 3 to 14," Rich Belkin said as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles float loomed past him. "And now guess what? He's taking me."

David Belkin said he still loves everything about the parade after all these years.

"The floats, the balloons, it's a great tradition and then there's turkey afterward," he said.

With Darran Simon

and Rosemary Olander