West 9th Street Residents Save Their Wickets from Parading Gays

The biggest Greenwich Village controversy since the last Greenwich Village controversy may have already been resolved: City Room reports that it looks like the fightin' residents of West 9th Street have succeeded in getting the Gay Pride Parade route changed to West 8th Street, preserving their $10,000 wickets and avoiding the "invasion of stomping feet." Or changed back, we should say, because it was the sudden switch of the route to the quiet celebrity-laden block (Uma Thurman, Barbara Bush) from its traditional West 8th Street path that triggered this skirmish in the first place. What was the reason for the change? The city's new parade regulations, which demand shorter routes. The West 9th Street Block Association called in some favors, and the City Council is now in talks with the NYPD to have the route switched back.
· New Route for Pride March Unsettles W. 9th St. [City Room]
· Villagers Don't Want Gay Pride Parade Ruining Their Wickets [Curbed]