Many of New York City\u2019s mayors have reveled in the chance to lead a large procession up Fifth Avenue. Not Mayor Zohran Mamdani \u2014 he practically made skipping parades something of a campaign pledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many parades that I would not be attending because I\u2019d be focusing on the work of leading the city,\u201d he said last year at a mayoral debate, as his opponents sought to characterize him as a shirker, who did not grasp the responsibilities of the role. \u201cThe mayor should be going to all parades,\u201d Curtis Sliwa explained.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, Mr. Mamdani made good on his pledge, to the dismay of some Italian American New Yorkers and the organizers of the city\u2019s Columbus Day parades, who are not accustomed of being snubbed by City Hall.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for Mr. Mamdani said on Sunday that the mayor would not be marching on Monday in Manhattan\u2019s Columbus Day parade, which has a long tradition of hosting mayors going back decades. City Hall\u2019s press office declined to explain why, but said he intended to host an Italian American heritage reception at Gracie Mansion in the coming weeks. On Saturday, Mr. Mamdani also released a video celebrating Italian American Heritage Month, which runs through October.<\/p>\n
Mr. Mamdani didn\u2019t participate in the other smaller Columbus Day parades around the city over the weekend, according to a report in The New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome Mayor Mamdani at all our events and it\u2019s unfortunate he can\u2019t be here with us celebrating Italian American culture and the community \u2014 we look forward to welcoming him at future parades and hope he will join us in 2027,\u201d the organizers of the Brooklyn Columbus Day parade said in a statement.<\/p>\n Since taking office in January, Mr. Mamdani has marched in a number of ethnic and cultural events, including parades celebrating St. Patrick\u2019s Day and Lunar New Year, as well as ones celebrating the West Indian, Ecuadorean, L.G.B.T.Q., Puerto Rican, Dominican and Sikh communities, according to information from City Hall.<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani did not participate in the Israel Day Parade<\/a> in May, citing his opposition to the Israeli government. Its organizers said they believed he was the first mayor to skip it since its inception in 1964.<\/p>\n The Columbus Day parade, long a point of pride for Italian Americans, has been a source of controversy<\/a> going back years<\/a>. In the 1930s, those gathered often displayed support for the fascist regime in Italy, allied with Nazi Germany. Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia threatened to boycott<\/a> the parade in 1935 if it was overtaken by fascists. Mr. Mamdani has called Mr. La Guardia, the son of immigrants from present-day Italy, the best mayor<\/a> in the city\u2019s history.<\/p>\n In more recent decades, the controversy has been over Columbus himself. Indigenous groups and other activists have rejected the narrative that Christopher Columbus, the Italian navigator, was a great explorer, saying he brought genocide and colonization in his wake<\/a>.<\/p>\n But New York City mayors generally turn out for the parade in Manhattan, year after year. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg did, however, miss it in his first year in office, 2002, but out of pique<\/a>, not politics. He had invited two actors from the HBO mob drama \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d to march with him, leading the parade\u2019s organizers \u2014 who felt \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d denigrates Italians \u2014 to sue to keep the actors away from the parade. <\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani offered his view of Columbus in 2020, when he was running for the State Assembly. He posted a photo to social media of himself giving the middle finger to a Columbus statue under the caption \u201cTake it down<\/a>.\u201d That message came amid a heated national debate over the removal of statues depicting a widening cast of historical figures, from Confederate generals to former United States presidents and others.<\/p>\n Some Italian Americans feel the mayor simply doesn\u2019t appreciate their contributions to New York City. This summer, the city released a map entitled \u201cNew York City Immigrant Enclaves\u201d that didn\u2019t include<\/a> Little Italy in Manhattan or in the Bronx, drawing an immediate rebuke from Italian American organizations and a promise from Mr. Mamdani to reissue the map to include \u201cmore than 200 ethnic communities<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The snub comes at a sensitive time for Italian Americans in New York City.<\/p>\n They are still well represented among the city\u2019s political class as was evident during the mayoral debate last year. Former governor Andrew M. Cuomo played up his Italian identity, and scolded Mr. Mamdani\u2019s attitude toward statues of Columbus as a \u201cdisgraziat<\/a>o\u201d \u2014 a disgraceful disregard<\/a>. His other opponent, Mr. Sliwa, is of Italian descent on his mother\u2019s side.<\/p>\n But their share of New York City\u2019s population has dropped markedly, from nearly 14 percent of the city\u2019s population in 1980 to under 6 percent<\/a> today, according to data<\/a> from the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute at the City University of New York.<\/p>\n In his video celebrating Italian American Heritage month, the mayor, a democratic socialist, narrated how Italian laborers took on the \u201cmost grueling and dangerous work, including digging our city\u2019s subway tunnels, building our bridges, and toiling in cramped sweat shops.\u201d He lauded the early mutual aid societies of Italian immigrants and their contributions to left-wing politics. \u201cItalian American history is New York City History,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But the video along with the planned gathering at Gracie Mansion did not seem to change many minds.<\/p>\n \u201cI see it as a P.R. charade, of him trying to appease all factions,\u201d said Michael Crispi, the head of the Italian American Civil Rights League, which fights against the cultural erasure of Italians in New York City. \u201cHe has contempt for Italian Americans,\u201d he said at another point in an interview.<\/p>\n Mr. Crispi said he was glad the mayor wouldn\u2019t be marching on Monday, and he condemned the parade\u2019s organizers for inviting him. \u201cIt was a weak gesture,\u201d he said, noting that Mr. Mamdani had made his feelings toward the holiday known through his middle finger. \u201cYou\u2019re begging for approval of this guy who should be apologizing to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Joann Ariola, a member of the New York City Council, encouraged the mayor to stay away from Columbus Day celebrations. In a social media post, she also referenced the statue photo and the map.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would he want to be there? said Ms. Ariola,<\/a> who represents a district in southeastern Queens and is a member of the City Council\u2019s Italian American caucus. \u201cTo get pictures and pretend he\u2019s a paisan now? He should sit this one out.\u201d<\/p>\n