The incidents led to scrutiny by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and changes in the parade, including a ban on larger balloons such as the Cat in the Hat.

[9] When weather presenter Al Roker described the winds as gale force shortly before the parade, one Macy's official objected and said that windspeeds were going down.

[11] However, speeds returned to figures as high as 43 miles per hour (69 km/h) during the parade, and balloon handlers struggled to maintain control of them, "h[anging] on for dear life" in the words of The New York Times.

[10] He then sliced in to the balloon's tail with the five-inch blade, which caused it to stabilize[10] while also sending pieces of pink rubber into the crowd.

[10] Officers swarmed the falling balloon and repeatedly stabbed it and stomped on it to release the helium that held it aloft, to cheers from the crowd.

[12] Macy's introduced physical fitness tests for its volunteer balloon handlers, and provided them with classroom instruction on geometry, outdoor training, and a free three-month gym membership.

[13] The woman who was left comatose for a month filed a $395 million lawsuit against Macy's, New York City, and the lamppost's manufacturer.

[13] She settled the suit in 2001 for an undisclosed sum, shortly before jury selection was to take place; the city was not responsible for any part of the settlement.

The engine landed in her bedroom while she was out of the house; the pilot, New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, was killed, as was his flight instructor.

[15] The spectacle of the Barney balloon being stabbed and stomped by NYPD officers re-entered the public consciousness after a home video was posted to YouTube in 2013 (see above), and later to TikTok.