EyeQ Tech review EyeQ Tech EyeQ Tech tuyển dụng review công ty eyeq tech eyeq tech giờ ra sao EyeQ Tech review EyeQ Tech EyeQ Tech tuyển dụng double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs king crabs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs crab roe crab food double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs soft-shell crabs crab legs double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs vietnamese seafood double-skinned crabs mud crab exporter double-skinned crabs double-skinned crabs crabs crab exporter soft shell crab crab meat crab roe mud crab sea crab vietnamese crabs seafood food vietnamese sea food double-skinned crab double-skinned crab crabs crabs crabs vietnamese crab exporter mud crab exporter crabs crabs
Metro

LGBTQ groups finally invited to march in Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade — ending NYC event’s decades-long anti-gay ban

By
Nicole Rosenthal
Published Nov. 12, 2024, 6:34 p.m. ET

LGBTQ groups will be allowed to march in Staten Island’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade for the first time ever this year, organizers announced Tuesday — ending a long-running controversy over the annual event’s anti-gay stance.

The announcement followed years of boycotts from local pols over LGBTQ groups being banned from marching in the borough’s annual Irish heritage parade.

“The Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee wishes to announce that the Staten Island Pride Center has been invited to march, under their own banner, in the 2025 Saint Patrick’s Day Parade,” the committee wrote in a statement first shared with Staten Island Advance.

A group of people, including celebrities like Simon Harris and Wendy Riche, marching with the Pride Center of Staten Island banner in the inclusive St. Patrick's Day Parade of 2024
LGBTQ+ groups will be allowed to march in Staten Island’s annual Irish heritage parade for the first time ever next year, the parade’s committee announced. Steve White for NY Post
Irish Consul General Helena Nolan announcing the invitation for LGBTQ groups in the Staten Island St. Patrick's Day parade.
Irish Consul General Helena Nolan announcing the invitation for LGBTQ groups in the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day parade. Steve White for NY Post
Staten Island Pride Center head Carol Bullock, David Carr, state Sen. Scarcella and K.C.Hankins at the announcement press conference.
Staten Island Pride Center head Carol Bullock, City Councilman David Carr, state Sen. Scarcella and activist K.C.Hankins at the announcement press conference. Steve White for NY Post

“The parade committee is entrusted with ensuring the focus of the parade remains upon Saint Patrick, the history, traditions, culture and faith of the Irish people,” the committee added. “In this endeavor, the leadership of The Pride Center has assured the parade committee that they are ready to provide support to the parade in fulfilling this obligation.”

The Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a 60-year-old tradition in the borough, is believed to be the last in the world to have excluded LGBTQ community members from marching – including Miss Staten Island 2020 Madison L’Insalata, who was banned from the festivities after coming out as bisexual that year to The Post.

Madison L'Insalata, Miss Staten Island 2020, holding rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ community, surrounded by famous faces at Forest Avenue, Staten Island, NY.
Miss Staten Island 2020, Madison L’Insalata, was banned from the festivities after coming out as bisexual in 2020. BRIGITTE STELZER
The Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a 60-year-old tradition in the borough, is believed to be the last in the world to have excluded LGBTQ+ community members from marching.
The Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a 60-year-old tradition in the borough, is believed to be the last in the world to have excluded LGBTQ+ community members from marching. LP Media

City Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island) was also barred from marching in the parade that same year — because he was wearing a tiny pride pin.

Borelli, who showed up with his wife and their two sons, previously told The Post the parade marshals “called the police” on him.

A separate procession was held on Staten Island last March, two weeks after the official St. Patrick’s Day Parade, that allowed LGBTQ groups to participate.

Generating...
Staten Island’s Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, a ladies’ Irish Catholic organization, marches at the Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade. LP Media

“We are truly honored to be invited to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” the Pride Center of Staten Island, credited by Mayor Eric Adams for its advocacy leading up to the committee’s decision, wrote in a statement Tuesday.

“This event is a time-honored tradition that brings people together from all walks of life to celebrate Irish culture, and we are excited to be part of this vibrant community celebration,” the organization added.

In a statement, Adams said he was “thrilled” with the decision by the organizing committee.

“From day one, our administration has been clear that celebrations in our city should be welcoming and inclusive, which is why we brought the community together, along with the Staten Island Business Outreach Center, to create the first-ever — and incredibly successful — fully-inclusive St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Staten Island earlier this year,” Adams said.

“We are thrilled that, this year, Staten Island’s LGBTQ+ community will finally be welcome to march under their own banner in the Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade and we applaud the committee for coming to this decision, which was a long-time coming,” the statement said. “Congratulations to the Staten Island community, including the Pride Center of Staten Island and the Lavender and Green Alliance, for their long advocacy for inclusion.”

The first LGBTQ-inclusive parade is slated to step off on March 2, 2025.