Timpone, a veteran of more than a dozen parades in his time with the Downtown Alliance and 31 years at the Department of Sanitation, has seen it all before.

WSJ: Planning a Parade in Secret

"A lot of security issues have changed, " Timpone said.

WSJ: Planning a Parade in Secret

As the resident experts on that stretch of Broadway, he and the Alliance are aware of every pothole, construction project and trash can along the parade route, information that Timpone passes along to the Department of Transportation and the Department of Buildings.

WSJ: Planning a Parade in Secret