NY loves a parade
The city’s iconic annual Puerto Rican Day Parade returned to its full boisterous self Sunday after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, drawing a crowd of thousands, including Mayor Adams and other local pols.
A beaming Adams, flanked by city Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, walked up the East Side of Manhattan waving a Puerto Rican flag while wearing a matching white shirt and hat with the patriotic symbol emblazoned on them.
Thousands of revelers decked out in Puerto Rican colors also braved the rainy weather to start at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street at around 11 a.m. and walk north to 79th Street.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, the son of Puerto Rican parents, served as the parade’s grand marshal.
“¡Viva Puerto Rico!” Adams’ official mayoral account posted on Twitter. “A little rain didn’t stop the largest Puerto Rican population outside of La Isla del Encanto itself from taking the streets to show their pride!”
Among the New York politicians who participated in the march were Gov. Hochul, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Adriano Espaillat, state Attorney General Letitia James, Adams’ predecessor and congressional candidate Bill de Blasio, fellow New York 10th Congressional contender and Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and state Secretary of State and former Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez.
‘Here together’
Sunday’s parade was the first real major celebration of New York’s Puerto Rican population since 2019, because the event, which has been held since April 1958, was significantly scaled down in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, Adams raised the Puerto Rican flag at Bowling Green Park in downtown Manhattan to celebrate the return of the full-fledged, in-person parade.
“This city says, ‘Mi casa, su casa. This is your city. This is our city,’ ” he said.
“And we’re here together. And this is an important time. I’m looking forward to this weekend.
“It’s just a powerful moment that the Puerto Rican community has played a major role in building this city [on] so many levels.”
National Puerto Rican Day Parade Board Chair Louis Maldonado said in May, “This is a milestone year for the parade, and our return to Fifth Avenue is yet another sign that [the city] and the Puerto Rican community are strong, resilient and as vibrant as ever,”
Yarimar Bonilla, from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter-CUNY, told WNYC, “There’s so much healing that we need to do after this pandemic that has caused so much stress. We need these community events to celebrate ourselves and remind ourselves of who we are.’’