MIDTOWN MANHATTAN (PIX11) – Was Christopher Columbus an intrepid Explorer or a brutal conqueror of indigenous people?
The controversy over his legacy continues on the eve of the big Manhattan Columbus Day parade, which Mayor Mamdani will not attend.
It is billed as the world’s largest celebration of Italian American heritage.
The 82nd annual Columbus Day parade, with tens of thousands of participants and 1 million spectators expected, takes place on Monday, October 12th this year, the actual anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas in 1492. But Mayor Mamdani is expected to be among the missing.
That is upsetting to Italian-American leaders like Andre Dimino, president of the Italian American One Voice Coalition.
“I am actually not surprised,” Dimino told PIX11 News. “After all, before he was even Mayor, he gave the finger to the Columbus statue in Queens, and he came out with an ethnic map of the city, and it doesn’t include Little Italy, or Irish or Jewish neighborhoods. It’s a disgrace,” he added.
Mayor Mamdani was already a no-show for three events honoring Christopher Columbus this weekend.
He was not at a wreath-laying ceremony at Columbus Circle and two Columbus Day parades.
The one in Astoria marched past the Christopher Columbus statue where the mayor, when he was running for state assembly in 2020, famously posted a picture of himself making an obscene gesture to the statue with the words, “take it down.”
Make PIX11 your preferred news source on Google: Here’s how
The other parade was in Bensonhurst, where City Council President Julie Menin served as grand marshal.
Menin posted these pictures on X, saying she was proud to honor the 800,000 Italian American New Yorkers.
“We want to bring attention to the fact that Italian Americans shouldn’t be snubbed in this way, especially by someone like a Mayor in a position of prominence in one of the greatest cities in the world,” Dimino told PIX11 News. “Italian Americans helped build this city, and we shouldn’t be snubbed like this,” he added.
Mayor Mamdani reportedly has said he will host an Italian American heritage month reception at Gracie Mansion at a future date.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.