Staff Reports
Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined an invitation to the Brooklyn Columbus Day Parade and, organizers say, never answered a similar invite from Queens. The no-show and silence have fed anger in parts of the city’s Italian‑American community and sharpened a story about who City Hall chooses to embrace — and who it does not.
Mamdani skips Brooklyn, ghosts Queens organizers
According to parade leaders, the Mayor’s Office told Brooklyn organizers the invitation was turned down, and Queens organizers say they never got a reply at all. Word spread fast in Bensonhurst and Astoria that Mayor Zohran Mamdani would likely also skip the big Fifth Avenue march in Manhattan. City Hall has offered no public explanation, leaving the silence to speak loudest.
Community reaction: “A slap in the face”
Local residents and parade leaders called the decline a slap in the face. Small business owners and retirees said they expected the mayor to show up for a long‑running celebration of Italian‑American heritage. Some organizers tried to keep the focus on the parade itself, but the anger over being ignored was plain: people want their leaders to represent everyone, not pick and choose which neighborhoods deserve attention.
This fits a pattern — and not a flattering one
The refusal didn’t come out of nowhere. Critics point to a resurfaced 2020 photo of Mayor Mamdani making an obscene gesture at a Columbus statue, a city map that initially left Little Italy off the list, and other recent skips of community events. Taken together, those episodes make the decision to decline feel less like a single misstep and more like a pattern of indifference toward certain immigrant and working‑class neighborhoods.
Why voters should care
Mayors set the tone for a city. Showing up matters — not just for a photo op, but to show respect for community history and hard‑working neighbors. If a mayor is selective about attendance, people will read his priorities. New Yorkers deserve a mayor who represents all corners of the city, not one who treats long‑standing traditions like optional calendar items. The parade went on without him, but the political cost of leaving a community feeling snubbed is something voters will remember.
