Fleet Week New York to return for first time since pandemic

Fleet Week New York will return as a live event in May, after a two-year absence due to the pandemic, the U.S. Navy and New York City officials announced Wednesday.

"We are thrilled, absolutely thrilled to return to New York," said Rear Adm. Charles Rock, Commander of the Navy Region mid-Atlantic, in an announcement on the steps of City Hall Wednesday.

Rock said more than 3,000 members of the Marines, Coast Guard and Navy will be coming aboard ships to New York City for Fleet Week.

Fleet Week New York 2022 is slated for May 24-29 with venues expected to include New York Harbor, Pier 86, Pier 88, the South Street Seaport, Washington Square Park, Times Square and more around the five boroughs, even though the celebration is largely associated with Manhattan.

The event was held as "Virtual Fleet Week" in both 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions, with virtual participation of about two million each of those years, the Navy previously said.

There were more than 4.4 million "impressions" from interactions with content posted across all platforms, including photos, graphics, videos, Instagram stories and text.

The event was first held in 1984 and other than the two pandemic years was only canceled as a live event one other time — in 2013, when it was on hiatus due to budgetary reasons.

The Navy said that in 2019, more than 100,000 people took tours of ships moored in the city and visited Fleet Week-associated displays at area parks and schools.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”