Hempstead, NY Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 117-2 requires a written permit from the Town Clerk before any parade, defined broadly as a public assembly moving on any sidewalk, street, highway, park or other public place in the Town, and exempts only military and emergency-service movements, funeral processions, and school groups traveling to or from class under school direction. Section 117-3 requires the application to be filed between 15 and 30 days before the proposed date, though the Town Clerk may waive that window for good cause, and it must detail the organizer's contact information, the route, start and end points, assembly location and time, timing, expected number of participants and vehicles or animals, and spacing between parade units.

Section 117-4 lets the Town Clerk issue the permit, after consulting the Commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department and with Town Board approval, only after finding the parade will be orderly, will not disrupt ambulance service or traffic, will not interfere with fire or police response, and is not held solely to advertise a product or for private profit. If the Town Board denies a permit, § 117-5 allows it to offer an alternate date, time or route, which the applicant must accept in writing within three days.

The Town Clerk must send a copy of every issued permit to other Town and county officials under § 117-6, and § 117-8 sets duties for the permittee once a parade is under way.