Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Who says nobody dresses up in NYC anymore? There's still time to catch Fleet Week and its pageantry
By
Karen Yi
Published May 29, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Karen Yi / Gothamist
By
Karen Yi
Published May 29, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
New Yorkers can still expect to spot groups of white-uniformed sailors fanning across the city for a few more days as the long-awaited return of Fleet Week wraps up.
The annual celebration of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard has returned after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 3,000 sailors and marines arrived in the Parade of Ships on May 25th and will depart on Tuesday.
Fleet Week is back in New York -- more than 3,000 sailors and marines are visiting through Tuesday.
Karen Yi / Gothamist
“Fleet week is kind of an opportunity for us to engage with the public. For a chance to show off what we do, because I feel like the public, they only can see what's on YouTube or something like that or what they see in the news,” said Jack Grabe, 21, a lance corporal in the Marine Corps.
The military ships, including the USS Bataan, known as the Big 5, will be open for public tours. The ship has been in service since the late 90s and was the first ship that arrived during 9/11.
“To see everybody get so interested to see the ship, it's just a very humbling experience,” Lt. Commander Jacqueline Zimny, the meteorologist and oceanographer aboard the U.S.S. Bataan, said.
The USS Bataan (LHD-5), named after the Battle of Bataan, in the Philippines during World War II, makes another call on New York, during Fleet Week.
Karen Yi / Gothamist
On Sunday, sailors said they were flattered by New Yorkers’ hospitality — meals paid for by strangers, free drinks and the flurry of photos and thank you’s.
“There was a gentleman who was stopped at a green light to ask us to take our picture,” said 32-year-old Dustin Sheets, who has served almost 12 years in the Navy.
For some first-time visitors, the city felt over-stimulating at times.
Jayce Brown and Jeremiah Jefferson visit New York during Fleet Week.
Karen Yi / Gothamist
“Everywhere you go, there's always at least 35 people there,” said sailor Baylor Willis, 22, from Kentucky.
On Sunday, residents hoped to tour an active military ship along the piers but the USS Bataan was closed for public tours.
The line outside the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Karen Yi
“These piers here, the piers in the 80s, going down through Chelsea piers have so much history to them,” 37-year-old Harlem resident Hannah Simpson said. “I think it's really cool to connect to that when I see the service members and it reminds us that there are people out there doing hard things for our country, even when we don't necessarily see it here at home.”
Other sailors took the opportunity to spend time with their friends and loved ones.
“We talk often about how freedom's not free. It's not free when you have a child that served in the military,” said Joni Robinson, 58. She was visiting from South Carolina to see her 31-year-old son, Caleb Robinson.
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
The oversight board’s report documents a deadly pattern of neglect at a facility meant to keep inmates safe.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 2:55 p.m. ET
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
The MTA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating how Yaw Boahene was fatally dragged by a subway train in Brooklyn on Monday.
By
Stephen Nessen
News
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
The MTA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating how Yaw Boahene was fatally dragged by a subway train in Brooklyn on Monday.
By
Stephen Nessen
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
By
Ryan Kost
Intoxication not a 'license' to rape: Hochul pushes to tighten law amid Cornell scandal
By
Walter Wuthmann
NYC Parks police told a yoga teacher to leash her dog. It got ugly.
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .