Yankees Parade Floats Start Their Journey in New Jersey

CLIFTON, N.J. (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- Mark and Nick Glodava stood on either side of the front door of Bond Parade Floats after school Thursday afternoon, peering into the dim and cluttered interior of the warehouse for any sign of the colorful trailers that will carry their baseball heroes through lower Manhattan.

``There they are,'' said Mark, 12.

Inside, 14 workers were completing the dozen floats that will transport the New York Yankees through lower Manhattan on Friday. The Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win their 27th World Series on Wednesday.

Owner Robert DeVito, 58, spotted the boys and their mother, Lesia, and brought them inside for a closer look. Workers attached Yankees logos to blue and white floral sheeting with power drills as the boys wandered through the warehouse.

The floats are flatbed trailers modified with risers, arches and decorative walls.

A 5-foot-in-diameter baseball awaited placement at the front of one float. A second float was adorned with a large ``2009 World Champions'' sign. Glodava, 41, snapped a photo of her boys aboard the float.

``It's a treat to see these guys put them together,'' said Glodava, who works down the street at Champion Plastics.

The company also prepared the floats for the parades celebrating Yankees championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000.

``We love doing the parade, but the logistics will drive you nuts because you really only get one day's notice,'' said DeVito, a lifelong Yankees fan. ``We know what we're doing, though. We've got this under control.''

The parade, which starts at 11 a.m. Friday, is expected to draw a sea of people to the stretch of Broadway that runs from Battery Park north to Chambers Street. It will be followed by a ceremony at City Hall.

Nick and Mark won't be in the confetti-striped throng, even though the die-hard Yankees fans stayed up past their bedtimes to watch the entire World Series with their dad, John Glodava, falling asleep on the living room carpet of their Clifton home during late games.

Seeing the floats ``makes it a little easier to miss the parade,'' Nick said.

Mark, who is in seventh grade, called his dad as soon as he stepped outside after seeing the floats.

``Guess where we are?'' he said.

TM & Copyright 2009 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO & EYE Logo TM & Copyright 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. TheAssociated Press contributed to this report.