Tight Security Marks Ticker-Tape Parade Up Broadway : New York: 750,000 line the street for Mandela’s welcome. The sight of the anti-apartheid activist in a bulletproof glass box doesn’t dampen enthusiasm.

Ticker-tape parades up New York City’s “Canyon of Heroes” have unique signatures: Overwhelming joy when the New York Mets won the World Series in 1986, catharsis when America’s Vietnam veterans marched a year earlier, relief in 1981 when the hostages held by Iran finally came home.

But when anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was honored on Wednesday, the extraordinary characteristic was the security. The deputy president of the African National Congress and his family were driven up Broadway in a bulletproof glass box on a flatbed truck surrounded by 100 protective agents.

It was a startling sight. Some spectators along the route, after cheering Mandela, bemoaned the heavy protective measures.

“Obviously, it is a sad commentary that he has to be in there,” said Adele Gray, a teacher’s assistant who came with some of her students from P.S. 261 in Brooklyn. “But we got to see him close.”

“It was incredible. He looked right in our faces,” said Lorenzo Grooms, 19, who works in a Wall Street-area brokerage house. “It’s a damn shame that’s what’s happening in the world today,” he added about the box. “What can you do? We love him.”

Although security was paramount--and at times seemingly oppressive--it did not dampen the enthusiasm of what police estimated were some 750,000 spectators along the parade route stretching from Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan to City Hall.

“It was pretty spectacular. It was neat,” said Adam Aston, a resident of Pittsburgh who graduated this spring from Princeton University. “He drove by and was close to us. He waved.”

“It’s a very proud day for New York. We still have a great deal to learn from him here in New York,” added Steve Hubbell, a free-lance journalist.

New York’s media promptly dubbed the bulletproof glass box mounted on the truck the “Mandela-mobile.” Privately, some photographers called it the fish tank as it passed.

But names aside, it provided an ultra-secure ride for Mandela, his wife, Winnie, daughter Zenani, New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and Mayor David N. Dinkins who traveled up Broadway to a blizzard of paper pouring down in some spots and flurries of paper in others.

The parade began more than an hour late, and some who had waited along the route returned to work before it arrived. Still, when Mandela finally appeared on lower Broadway, cheering crowds three and four deep lined both sides of the street. Many held up anti-apartheid signs or the black, green and gold colors of the ANC.

From his unique vehicle, Mandela and his family returned the cheers with waves.

The 71-year-old revolutionary, who spent more than 27 years in jail before being released last February, was obviously touched by his New York reception, including a ceremony later at City Hall.

Security remained tight as Mandela received the key to the city from Dinkins, New York’s first black mayor. Some people with legitimate credentials experienced great difficulty in getting into the City Hall ceremony.

“Mr. Mandela is like a modern day Moses leading the people of South Africa from enslavement at the hands of the Pharaohs. He and his people have endured their walk through the desert of deprivations,” Dinkins said in his introduction at the ceremonies at the parade’s conclusion.

“Now his path is clear and he will not be deterred,” the mayor said. “For he and his people have suffered their way into the leadership of South Africa.”

Mandela responded that he and his delegation “are overwhelmed by the extraordinary reception we have received. No amount of words can ever express the deep emotions that I feel at this very moment. You, the wonderful citizens of New York, have demonstrated in the most visible manner that we, the oppressed people of South Africa and the ANC, are admired and respected.

” . . . To all of you citizens of New York, let me say from the bottom of my heart, we respect you, we admire you, and above all, we love you,” he added, to a great cheer from the crowd.

The day also reflected the “melting pot” heritage of New York, with marchers who preceded Mandela displaying a distinctly ethnic flavor. A Chinese-American sports team darted, carrying a paper dragon, close to the crowd. A Jewish group carried a sign, “Jews for a Free South Africa.”

A few minutes later, a delegation of Arab-American marchers appeared. Interspersed were police bands with bagpipes and union contingents.

But while they were enthusiastic, the crowds were smaller than at some previous parades. Falling paper of every sort--ribbons, shreds, streamers, computer broad sheets, order forms from the stock exchanges--turned some sidewalks and the stairs to subway stations along the route into snowbanks.

But at other spots, particularly at the start of the parade, when Mandela finally appeared, the ticker-tape welcome was sparse.

At some previous parades, the crowds were jammed eight to 10 deep on the sidewalks.

In 1984, when 221 U.S. Olympic athletes were honored, so many people packed the route that 101 spectators were injured when a construction scaffold fell. The crowds were equally dense in 1981 when the U.S. hostages came home from Iran. Millions watched and cheered the New York Mets in 1986.

But Mandela’s parade Wednesday carried a special message of hope and reconciliation, which was echoed by many spectators.

“There’s been a lot of racial conflict in the city, and I think this will help,” said Margaret Chin, a 27-year-old graduate student who wore an “I Salute Mandela” T-shirt.

Her remarks were seconded by Rabbi Gilbert S. Rosenthal, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, who stood nearby.

“I would hope there’s a nice warm feeling of camaraderie here today,” Rosenthal said. “It’s a great welcome for a real hero.”

HIGHLIGHTS OF TODAY’S SCHEDULE Eastern Daylight Time 6:30 a.m.--Breakfast with Jesse Jackson at Gracie Mansion. 8:10 a.m.--Arrives at Inter-Church Center, for meeting with dignitaries. 9:00 a.m.--Ecumenical service at Riverside Church. 2:25 p.m.--Arrives at City College of New York for taping of “Nightline” with Ted Koppel. 6:45 p.m.--Departs Gracie Mansion for rally at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building. 7:00 p.m.--Rally at Yankee Stadium begins. 8:50 p.m.--Mandela arrives at Yankee Stadium rally. Stays overnight at Gracie Mansion.