NYC Pride Weekend gets underway with festivities ahead of Sunday's March
New York City's Pride Weekend is in full swing with the final preps underway for Sunday's March through Greenwich Village.
Over 1 million people are expected to line the streets, and heavy security and street closures will be in place.
Thousands participate in annual NYRR Pride Run
Racers were up early Saturday morning as the 44th Annual New York Road Runners Pride Run brought an estimated 8,000 runners to Central Park.
Proceeds benefited Lambda Legal, a nonprofit working to secure rights for LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV.
"Running brings people together, and we love the fact that this event brings both allies and members of the community together to celebrate Pride, to let people know that they are seen and heard and part of the running community," NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer said.
Lifelong LGBTQ+ activist Mark Segal stops by visitor center
Saturday afternoon in Greenwich Village, the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center on Christopher Street celebrated its first anniversary with a special guest – Mark Segal.
The lifelong LGBT activist was there the night of the Stonewall Inn riots in 1969, and in 1973, he became famous for interrupting a live broadcast of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite and holding up a sign reading, "Gays protest CBS prejudice."
"It created visibility for us. Sixty million people saw that," Segal said.
Controversy with Gay Officers Action League
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says she's going to protest Sunday's March over a policy she feels discriminates against LGBTQ+ police officers.
Members of the Gay Officers Action League want to participate in the Pride March in full uniform, including carrying their service weapons, but Heritage of Pride co-chair Kazz Alexander says the event has a zero tolerance policy for weapons.
"You don't necessarily need to show up in uniform," Alexander said Friday. "We invite GOAL to be a part of the March, just not with weapons."
Tisch, however, says NYPD officers cannot wear their uniforms without their service weapons, and called the exclusion of GOAL "unacceptable" and "a disgrace to the spirit of Pride."
CBS News New York reached out to Heritage of Pride for a response to , but did not hear back.
NYC Pride March steps off Sunday
Saturday's events are all leading up to Sunday's massive Pride March.
It kicks off at noon on Fifth Avenue near Madison Square Park before heading west, snaking its way through Greenwich Village and the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street, then heading north up Seventh Avenue and ending around 15th Street.
This year's theme is "Rise Up: Pride in Protest," marking 56 years since the Stonewall Riots. That is the reason Heritage of Pride calls it the Pride March, instead of a parade.
