{"id":244009,"date":"2026-05-26T16:20:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/244009\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:20:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:20:24","slug":"brooklyns-oldest-memorial-day-parade-returns-to-bay-ridge-for-159th-year-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/244009\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn\u2019s oldest Memorial Day Parade returns to Bay Ridge for 159th year \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of spectators lined Bay Ridge\u2019s Third Avenue on Monday as Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade<\/a> marched through the neighborhood, honoring fallen service members in what organizers say is the nation\u2019s oldest continuously running Memorial Day parade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Veterans, marching bands, community organizations and labor unions marched through the neighborhood<\/a> before gathering at John Paul Jones ark for a waterfront memorial service that included \u201cbagpipes, flag raising, wreath laying by veteran service organizations, a 21-gun salute by the Veteran Corps of Artillery and the playing of Taps.<\/p>\n

\"\"Spectators lined the streets for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta<\/p>\n

Parade Director Raymond Aalbue told Brooklyn Paper that this year\u2019s event stood out because of its honorees, including Grand Marshals Brigadier General Michael J. Deegan and Robin Kelleher, the co-founder and CEO of Hope for the Warriors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey gave really uplifting speeches,\u201d Aalbue said.\n<\/p>\n

The parade also recognized Ironworkers Local 361 and Operating Engineers Local 14-14B as deputy grand marshals, honoring the unions\u2019 longstanding involvement with the annual event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose two unions have been a part of the Memorial Day Parade for many, many years,\u201d Aalbue said. \u201cUnions built this country.\u201d
\n\"\"Local electeds, including U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, joined the Memorial Day celebrations.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta\n<\/p>\n

Despite forecasts calling for rain throughout the day, spectators still gathered along the parade route in strong numbers, Aalbue said, though turnout was slightly lower than last year\u2019s crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowd was good along the parade route,\u201d he said. \u201cI was satisfied with that.\u201d
\n\"\"Aalbue told Brooklyn Paper that the parade intends to \u201crecognize and remember\u201d the fallen.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta\n<\/p>\n

Additional deputy grand marshals included U.S. Navy veteran and veterans\u2019 rights advocate Joe Bello, as well as representatives connected to the Borinqueneers, the famed all-Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment that served in the Korean War.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Aalbue, an Air Force veteran who worked for the U.S. Army as a civilian employee for 26 years before spending four years with the Veterans Administration, the parade carries deep personal meaning. He said he became involved with the event more than 35 years ago, when World War II and Korean War veterans were still leading the organization.<\/p>\n

\"\"Council Member Kayla Santosuosso joined the march with her family.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that I should carry on in their footsteps,\u201d Aalbue said. \u201cI wanted to make sure that the people that went to war are recognized and remembered, and the people who didn\u2019t come back from the battlefield will be remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Parade-goers of all generations lined the streets.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta<\/p>\n

The 2026 parade marked the 159th edition of the annual tradition, with organizers already looking ahead to next year\u2019s milestone 160th Memorial Day parade. Aalbue said, however, that every year holds equal importance.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery parade is important to us,\u201d he said. \u201cThe number doesn\u2019t have anything to do with it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta \"\"Honoring the fallen: Bay Ridge came together for Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade.Photo by Arthur de Gaeta<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of spectators lined Bay Ridge\u2019s Third Avenue on Monday as Brooklyn\u2019s 159th Memorial Day Parade marched through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[7727,95295,99,95296,2025,81735,94709,661,9,24,12,370,63,12682,134,136,135,1979],"class_list":["post-244009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-bay-ridge","tag-bay-ridge-parade","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-brooklyn-veterans","tag-community-news","tag-memorial-day","tag-memorial-day-parade","tag-military","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-events","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news","tag-veterans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}