Marches to a different ‘dumber’
Mayor de Blasio claims convicted terror boss Oscar López Rivera won’t be honored at Sunday’s Puerto Rican Day Parade — but on Wednesday, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said not so fast.
She insisted the founder of the murderous terror group FALN would still be honored at the Fifth Avenue parade, even over the objections of police groups and local leaders and in the face of a sponsor boycott.
“The award continues to be given to him, but he’s decided to bestow it on the people,” said Mark-Viverito, minutes before speaking at a Gracie Mansion party celebrating the parade.
López Rivera, whose sentence was commuted by outgoing President Barack Obama in January, served 35 years in prison for his terror ties.
Mark-Viverito made reference to a recently published op-ed piece by López Rivera in which he said he’s “bestowing” to others the National Freedom Hero designation granted him by the parade’s organizers.
“His op-ed was very clear,” she said. “People just have to read his words. His words speak for themselves.”
Mark-Viverito refused to explain, though, how López Rivera would be honored.
She later met López Rivera at JFK Airport as he arrived in town for the parade.
Her remarks come two days after de Blasio claimed he was privately opposed to honoring López Rivera all along, a complete turnaround from what he said a month earlier.
The mayor also claimed he gave the Puerto Rican Day Parade committee an ultimatum behind the scenes, saying he wouldn’t march unless it yanked the honor from López Rivera.
When asked about de Blasio’s comments, Mark-Viverito said, “You have to ask the mayor that question about what decisions he made.”
De Blasio’s office responded to the speaker’s comments by repeating his insistence that López Rivera won’t be honored.
Mayoral spokesman Eric Phillips said Mark-Viverito “is entitled to characterize anyone’s marching posture however she’d like, but Oscar López Rivera isn’t being honored — period.”
Parade-committee Chair Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez said “Oscar will be marching in the parade,” but refused to comment on if parade organizers planned to do anything special for him.