COURIER L 10 IFE, AUGUST 20-26, 2021
Mermaid Parade
canceled again
Organizers cite rise in COVID cases
BY JESSICA PARKS
Brooklynites will have to return
their decadent sea creature-themed
costumes to the closet once more, as
Coney Island’s famed Mermaid Parade
will be postponed another year.
“It is with sadness that we announce
the cancellation of the 2021 Mermaid
Parade,” the organizing group, Coney
Island USA, posted on Facebook on
Wednesday morning, Aug. 18. “When
we set the September date, we hoped
that the Parade, the largest art parade
in the nation and a point of civic pride
for Coney Island, would represent a
return to normalcy. Unfortunately,
COVID-19 is not fi nished with us quite
yet.”
Coney Island USA elected to postpone
the 39th annual Mermaid Parade,
the country’s largest art parade,
which doubled as a celebration of the
wonderfully wacky spirit of the peninsula,
as thousands of parade-goers
from across the city and beyond could
easily spread the coronavirus, the post
said.
“The Parade draws hundreds of
thousands to Coney Island every year,
including large numbers of children,
many crowding onto mass transit for
the ride out to Stillwell Avenue,” they
wrote. “It is the centerpiece of the
CIUSA calendar, and we are very proud
of the positive impact that the Parade
has on our Coney Island community.
However, the risks to our sponsors, patrons,
community, and our wonderful
staff — who have risen to every challenge
— were too much to bear.”
This year, the parade was planned
for Sept. 12, a pivot from it traditionally
serving as the kickoff to the summer
season, as the pandemic left organizers
uncertain whether they
could move forward — until, in June,
they offi cially announced the parade
would happen after Coney Island USA
head Dick Zigun told Brooklyn Paper
in April that an in-person event was
possible.
While the Mermaid Parade was
planned to instead close out the summer
lifeguard season, many of the annual
traditions were set to return —
like the costume contest presided over
by an “inebriated, inept, and incompetent”
panel of judges.
Other fan favorites would have
seen a comeback, like “Queen Mermaid”
and “King Neptune” riding on
their antique wicker Boardwalk Rolling
Chair, which Coney Island USA
says dates back to 1923.
The cancellation comes as the city
sees a third wave of the coronavirus
credited to the spread of the Delta
BEACHED: Author Neil Gaiman serves as
King Neptune for the 2018 Mermaid Parade.
This year’s march has been canceled, a second
time, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
File photo
variant that has especially hit areas
recording low vaccination rates with
city data showing Coney Island’s 11224
zip code as a typical leader in sevenday
infection rates.
Despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement
on Aug. 4 that the Health
Department would discontinue sharing
seven-day infection rates by zip
code because of a lack of accurate
data, the city is still sharing data on
the percent of a zip code’s population
who have tested positive over seven
days.
Between Aug. 8 and Aug. 14, the
11224 zip code has fallen to the middle
of the list, recording 4.97 percent
of its tested population were positive
for coronavirus, while Breezy Point,
Queens took the lead last week with
15.53 percent of its population’s tests
coming back positive.
Coney Island USA’s announcement
follows a similar postponement from
a fellow neighborhood group, the Alliance
for Coney Island, who announced
they are canceling this year’s Coney Island
Sand Sculpting Contest last week.
It is unclear whether there will be
a virtual celebration as there was in
2020, but their announcement stated
plans for a full return in 2022.
“We are all disappointed and apologize
to those of you who, like us, were
looking forward to this annual celebration
of life, creativity, and togetherness,
post-2020,” Coney Island USA
posted. “Please be assured that the
Mermaid Parade will return in 2022,
better than ever!”