Mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped Brooklyn’s annual Columbus Day Parade on Saturday and left organizers of a similar event in Queens hanging without a response, continuing a friction-filled relationship with the city’s Italian American community, the NY Post reported.
The Federation of Italian American Organizations of Brooklyn, which organizes the parade along 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst, stated that the Mayor’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Mamdani declined their invitation sent weeks earlier. Meanwhile, organizers of the annual Queens Columbus Day Parade in Astoria noted the mayor never responded to their invitation, leaving them waiting as the event concluded near the Columbus statue by Astoria Boulevard — the exact monument Mamdani flipped the bird to in a 2020 social media post.
The Bensonhurst Standoff and Brooklyn Reactions
Participants gathered along 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst for the Brooklyn Columbus Day Parade on Saturday, where reactions to the mayor’s absence were sharply divided. Council Speaker Julie Menin, a moderate Democrat who has repeatedly clashed with Mamdani over his far-left agenda, served as the grand marshal for the Brooklyn event.
Albert Esposito, a 72-year-old retired schoolteacher, voiced his frustration to the NY Post. “It’s very disappointing because we elected him the mayor, and he is supposed to be representing everybody,” he said. Paul DeSpirito, 53, who operates a neighborhood Italian sandwich and catering business, called the absence “a slap in the face to the Italian American community.” While local business owners and residents viewed the decision as an insult, other attendees expressed satisfaction that Mamdani stayed away.
Carlo Scissura, vice chairman of the FAIO of Brooklyn, declined to address the mayor’s snub directly. Instead, he emphasized the community’s resolve, stating, “We are proud and excited to host our annual parade, a powerful celebration of Italian American heritage, pride and culture.” Jerry Iannece, a criminal court judge and parade chairman, criticized the broader pushback against the explorer, telling the NY Post that disdain for Columbus is “misguided” and that “there’s a lot of people who want to rewrite history.”
Silence in Astoria and the Historical Flashpoints
In Queens, the local narrative centered around administrative silence. Angie Markham, executive director of the FAIO of Queens, told the NY Post that Mamdani skipping the Astoria parade “isn’t gonna make or break the event for me.” She defended the holiday’s cultural significance, remarking, “People wanna change history. It is what it is. This is the day we chose to [honor] Italian heritage. The Spanish have a whole month. The blacks have a whole month. We have one day. Leave us alone!”
This weekend’s absences compound earlier tensions between the mayor and Italian American organizations. In July, the administration faced heavy criticism after omitting Little Italy and other historic ethnic neighborhoods from a newly released city map of immigrant enclaves. Mamdani defended the list at the time by insisting it was not “exhaustive” and promising future amendments. That friction traces back further to a 2020 social media post from Mamdani’s time running for the state Assembly, which featured a photograph of the politician making an obscene gesture at the Astoria Columbus statue alongside the caption, “Take it down.”
Uncertainty Surrounding the Manhattan Celebration
Sources indicated to the NY Post that Mamdani is also unlikely to attend the larger Columbus Day Parade along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Monday. The Columbus Citizens Foundation, which runs the prominent Manhattan event, extended an invitation to the mayor despite facing backlash from other Italian American groups.
Christopher Loiacono, president of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, and other leaders of the group did not return messages regarding the invitation or the broader community reactions. The Mayor’s Office similarly did not immediately respond to inquiries from reporters regarding the weekend absences or the upcoming Manhattan procession.
