COMMUNITY
Inclusion the Watchword in Woodside St. Pat’s
For 21st year, Ireland’s patron saint honored with diversity in Queens
BY KATHLEEN WARNOCK
While offi cials were
once again kicking
gays and their allies
out of the Staten
Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade on
March 1, in Woodside and Sunnyside,
Queens, participants and
spectators were gathering on Skillman
Avenue for the latest edition
of New York’s fi rst inclusive celebration
of Ireland’s patron saint.
In 21 years, St. Pat’s For All has
gone from outlier to norm, and the
Staten Island event has gone from
norm to outlier.
This being an election year,
dozens of Democratic elected offi
cials and hopefuls turned out
in Queens. Along with “Happy
St. Patrick’s Day,” the most-heard
greeting of the day was: “Are you
a registered voter in Queens?” And
longtime marchers were quick to
cite their bona fi des.
“I was one of the earlier people
to march in this parade,” Senator
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic
minority leader, said as his contingent
lined up. Schumer worked
the parade route with a bullhorn,
urging spectators to cheer — and
vote.
“I’ve been coming since 2012,”
out gay City Council Speaker Corey
Johnson of Chelsea said. “This is
one of the best St. Patrick’s Day
Parades in the city. It’s painful to
see what’s happening in Staten Island
in contrast to this one.”
“I’ve been coming since it fi rst
started,” State Senator Michael Gianaris,
an Astoria Democrat, said.
“Queens is the center of progressive
activity in this country. We
lead the way in western Queens,
and this parade has led the way
for a long time with its emphasis
on inclusion and diversity.”
Assemblymember Aravella Simotas,
another Democrat from Astoria,
talked about how she has
marched in the parade as a community
board member and now as
an elected offi cial.
People who have marched since
2000 — from Mayor Bill de Blasio
to out gay Councilmembers Daniel
Dromm of Jackson Heights and
Jimmy van Bramer of Sunnyside
— provide a kind of institutional
memory of the parade, speaking
the names of departed friends and
supporters, from Edie Windsor to
Osvaldo “Ms. Colombia” Gomez,
and welcoming new groups from
Queens, the other boroughs, states
and countries to the not-too-long
parade route that ends just short
of Roosevelt Avenue.
Founder Brendan Fay and cochair
Kathleen Walsh D’Arcy ascended
the fl atbed truck for opening
remarks and speeches just
past noon on a brisk, sunny day.
This year, the grand marshals
were Irish musician and historian
Mick Moloney and the Astoria
based non-profi t group Hour
Children, founded 34 years ago by
Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, which helps
incarcerated women get back into
society and the work force and reunite
with their children.
Moloney said he was thrilled to
fi nally be able to attend the parade.
St. Patrick’s season is the
musician’s busiest time of year.
“My March starts in February,”
he explained. “I’ve always been gigging.
I was amazed when I heard
they wanted me, and it’s a great
honor.”
Johanna Flores, Hour Children’s
employment coordinator, and Sarah
Murphy, its offi ce coordinator,
led the group’s contingent. Both
were helped by Hour Children
when they came out of prison and
now help others build new lives.
“What we’re trying to do is break
the cycle of poverty with love and
education,” Flores said. She added
the parade’s motto — “Cherish all
the children of the nation equally”
— matched Hour Children’s mission.
As the parade prepared to step
off, Fay and Walsh D’Arcy introduced
the grand marshals and
other dignitaries, including Ciarán
Madden, consul general of Ireland,
de Blasio, Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams, Schumer, Congressmembers
Carolyn Maloney
DONNA ACETO
The lead banner in the March 1 St. Pat’s For All Parade in Queens.
DONNA ACETO
Parade founder Brendan Fay with Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and City Council Speaker
Corey Johnson.
➤ ST. PAT’S FOR ALL, continued on p.9
DONNA ACETO
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