SAFETY

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Hey, Pride friends and family. We understand that news of harmful or potentially harmful acts in other areas has alarmed many of our community members. We understand that some of us are in need of reassurance of our safety protocols. Unfortunately, these threats are not new to LGBTQIA2S+ people or other so-called marginalized communities. CNY Pride has had many discussions around how best to keep the many dimensions of our community as safe as possible for the parade and festival, even before recent events. 

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We hope to see you at Pride, and encourage you to make the best decision for yourself, your friends and families. Please read our approach to safety below.

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• As required, in order to get permits for public events and street closures in the City of Syracuse, our current security plan includes the Syracuse Police Department at the perimeter of the parade and festival grounds, a private security firm throughout the festival grounds and parade, and a volunteer security team.

• If you see something or someone suspicious (and no, we don't mean your ex, unless they are wearing tactical gear, carrying a weapon, or appear to be a physical threat to themselves or others), please tell any of these people:

  • Someone wearing a security shirt or uniform

  • Someone wearing a CNY Pride badge

  • Police Officers at the perimeter of the events and road closures/main entrances to the Festival Grounds on W. Kirkpatrick St. 

  • Call 911

• ​CNY Pride will not be further policing the Queer, Trans, and BIPOC people at this event.

• There are no known current threats to CNY PRIDE, board members, parade, or festival. Should we become aware of them, we will work with law enforcement and agencies to assess the situation and make informed decisions. 

• We are aware of one anti-LGBTQ protestor who frequents Pride events. He is historically non-violent, although annoying. Law enforcement is aware and prepared to make sure protestors remain outside of our permitted Festival areas. Non-violent protestors are allowed freedom of speech on public property. Please do not engage with them (although we know it can be tempting). 

• CNY Pride currently has a very good, positive relationship with law enforcement and the city.  

• We understand that everyone's definition of "safety" is different. While we are doing our best to keep folks safe, we also recognize that more policing does not always guarantee more safety for many in our community. We encourage members of our community who are requesting more policing (including things like bag checks, metal detectors, mandatory non-consensual frisking, etc.) to research the history of both Pride and the Civil Rights movement. 

• We acknowledge that there are members of our community that will not feel safe enough to attend our events, no matter the precautions or policies we have in place. These members of our community should be listened to, respected, and believed.   

• EXITS: Please see the map below. The Inner Harbor is a public park accessible by public streets with many possible exit routes. The grounds are completely open on several sides. Please see the below map to familiarize yourself with all possible exits along West Kirpatrick St, Van Rensselear St., Spencer St., via the Inner Harbor dock, and more. The parade Route on Solar and W. Kirkpatrick Street is completely open on all sides of the street, although it does narrow and have plants, shrubs, and some fencing creating boundaries near the bridge over the creek.

• We acknowledge that everyone's definition of safety is different, especially in a world where we are currently being impacted by multiple pandemics including COVID, white supremacy, racism, bigotry, etc. As such, we cannot guarantee anyone's safety at the Inner Harbor any more than we can at the grocery store, school, house of worship, or their own bed. We gather in the face of these risks as one example of creating more opportunities to fight the isolation so many of us have experienced over these last few very challenging years. We welcome you to join us, and understand if you cannot. 

• We encourage folks to make the best decisions for themselves in terms of parade and festival attendance. We wish we could create a beautiful safe bubble where no one would have to encounter risk or danger, but unfortunately we live in America in 2022. 

• We hate that we have to say this, but: should a shooting occur, your best chance of survival is to get as far away as possible as quickly as possible. Please see below for a map of the festival grounds, and make note of the many possible exit routes. 

• Do not enter the water under any circumstances if you cannot swim. We do not recommend jumping in the water if it can be avoided, as Onondaga Lake is considered a Super Fund site.

• Finally, we encourage folks to contact their elected officials to ask what they are doing to keep people in public spaces like parks, schools, and grocery stores safe from gun violence and white supremacists. 

• If you have additional ideas, suggestions, or information, please contact us at info@cnypride.org. 

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Check out our Parking, Accessibility, and Wellness page, and the rest of our website for even more useful information that can help you plan your day at Pride. 

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We've recently spoken to the media about this. If you'd like to read or hear more, visit this link and this link.