COVID FOE NOW ‘KING’
Ex-city health commish to lead Coney’s Mermaid Parade
Dr. Dave Chokshi can add a new line to his distinguished résumé: King Neptune.
The city’s one-time health commissioner and most prominent figure in New York’s pandemic response was announced Wednesday as one of the “royals” heading the 40th annual Mermaid Parade through Coney Island on June 18.
Joining Chokshi will be Queen Mermaid Mx Justin Vivian Bond, the renowned singer, actress and nightclub performer seen in venues from Broadway to the Sydney Opera House. The newly named queen’s memoir, “Tango: My Childhood Backwards and in High Heels,” won the Lambda Literary Award for transgender nonfiction.
Chokshi became a familiar face to New Yorkers across the last two years, appearing in television commercials throughout the pandemic while leading the city’s response to COVID-19.
The Rhodes scholar led the charge to vaccinate more than 6 million New Yorkers during the health crisis.
The Coney Island celebration of summer remains the nation’s largest art parade and one of the city’s major gatherings, with the festivities kicking off around 1 p.m. and lasting for roughly three hours.
Among the eclectic roster of past kings were talk show host Joe Franklin, musician David Byrne, attorney Ron Kuby and rocker Lou Reed, while the queens featured actress Anabella Sciorra, singer Debbie Harry and hip-hop icon Queen Latifah.
The festivities before a typically huge crowd feature classic cars and motorized floats rolling along Surf Ave. until the parade disbands at 19th St., with the king and queen leading the revelers onto the Coney Island beach and the “official” opening of the ocean for the summer.
Officially missing from this year’s event will be parade founder Dick Zigun, ousted by the Coney Island USA organization in a financial dispute this past winter.