Staten Island, which is home to the last remaining St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York City that excludes LGBTQ+ groups, is getting a second parade this year that will include those delegations for the first time.
The new parade will take place on March 17, said Mayor Eric Adams’ spokesperson Kayla Mamelak, and will be separate from the standing St. Patrick’s Day parade on Staten Island, which will still apparently exclude LGBTQ+ groups and is set to take place on March 2, according to City Hall. Parade organizers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adams has declined to attend the existing parade in previous years.
“From day one, Mayor Adams has been clear that celebrations in our city should be welcoming and inclusive,” Mamelak said in a statement on Friday. “That is why we are thrilled to be collaborating with the Staten Island Business Outreach Center for their first-ever St Patrick’s Day parade this year where everyone interested — regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, race or beliefs – will be welcome to march together.”
The exclusion of LGBTQ+ groups from the existing Staten Island parade has long been a point of contention, as people who have criticized the ban as a discriminatory practice have met with opposition from some Catholics.
The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Manhattan ended its exclusion of those groups in 2014, reflecting changing attitudes within the Catholic Church and putting the focus on Staten Island in the years since.
The Forest Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade, as the second parade is called, will step off at noon on March 17, according to details on its Eventbrite page. The procession will take place along Forest Avenue, from Hart Boulevard through Broadway.
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