Millions of New York City residents lined 5th Avenue Monday to watch the 247th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Many onlookers were decked out in traditional green attire as they watched bagpipers, drummers and dancers parade through Manhattan on a mild March day. Firefighters, policemen and dozens of other groups maintained their usual presence at the parade.

But several notable government figures, usually a fixture at the event, were absent. Mayor Bloomberg joined other local and national leaders in Albany to witness David A. Paterson getting sworn in as New York's 55th governor, replacing Eliot Spitzer, who resigned Monday following allegations that he was a client in a prostitution ring.