Oyster Bay, NY Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 168-16, Public addresses, entertainments or parades, opens with a legislative-intent statement recognizing that leafleting is a respected tradition and that the Town Board reveres and respects the fundamental rights to free speech, assembly and expression, while also finding a legitimate, compelling governmental interest in regulating the time, place and manner of park activity. The operative permit rule sits in Subsection C: no person shall erect any structure, stand or platform; conduct any parade, drill or maneuver, form any procession for a parade or proceed in the park; hold any meeting; perform any ceremony; conduct any performance or show of any kind or nature; or, being in or on a vehicle, race with another vehicle in any park except by permit issued by the Commissioner of the Department of Parks.

Subsection B directs the Commissioner to write rules and regulations to issue and enforce those permits consistent with the stated intent. Subsection D separately addresses leafleting: distributing printed material in a park needs no permit on an ordinary day, but on a day when a special event is scheduled, distribution inside the special event area does require a permit, which must be issued without regard to content and can be denied only for capacity reasons or because the applicant violated a permit within the prior year. A current schedule of special events is available on the Town's website or by phone from the Department of Parks.