ST. PATRICK’S DAY
St. Pat’s for All Returns to Sunnyside and Woodside
LGBTQ-friendly St. Patrick’s Day parade back on the streets for fi rst time since 2020
BY KATHLEEN WARNOCK
St. Pat’s for All, the inclusive
Queens parade, returned
to the streets of
Sunnyside and Woodside
in person on March 6 for the fi rst
time since 2020.
Sunday morning was rainy and
damp, but the rain stopped, the
sun came out, and the streets of
Sunnyside and Woodside came
alive. Participants and attendees,
many draped in Irish accessories,
cheered and clapped with Irish
and Pride fl ags.
That’s how St. Pat’s for All returned,
as folks missed and honored
friends and supporters who
didn’t make it through the pandemic.
They were joined by longtime
marchers as well as new ones
in an event that gave release to two
years of postponed joy.
The parade began with addresses
from the organizers and local
elected offi cials. This year’s grand
marshals were the family of Tarlach
MacNiallis, who emigrated from
Northern Ireland to make New York
City his home. As an activist and
organizer, MacNiallis was an advocate
for the disabled, and was with
the parade from the beginning.
MacNiallis’s husband, Juan Nepomuceno,
and two of his brothers,
Brendan and Tony Nellis, and their
sister, Patricia, brought a large
photo of their brother standing in
front of the Irish fl ag. They spoke of
his courage and dedication, bringing
many in the crowd to tears.
“We were both surprised and
humbled to receive this honor,”
Tony Nellis told the crowd, adding,
“A man lives for as long as we carry
him with us…his legacy will live
on, as long as we do. And Tarlach’s
legacy was to create a safe and welcoming
place. St. Pat’s for all was
his spiritual home.”
Other politicians ascended to the
fl atbed truck for remarks, ushered
on and off by former Councilmember
Daniel Dromm — one of the founders
of the parade. The affection for
Dromm was palpable, as speaker after
speaker referred to him as a “trailblazer,”
“our forever Council Member,”
Attorney General Letitia James joins the Gays Against Guns contingent.
Irish Consul General Helena Nolan and the family of Tarlach MacNiallis .
and the “Queen of Queens.”
The last two years have seen elections
(and resignations) changing
the faces of elected offi cials, and for
the fi rst time in at least a decade,
New York City’s Mayor did not attend
or send a representative.
Helena Nolan, Ireland’s consulgeneral,
told the crowd, “I don’t need
an umbrella, I’m Irish!” She said
she was “thrilled and honored” to
join the parade she’d “heard about
for many years in Ireland.”
Governor Kathy Hochul sent
Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin,
and City Council Speaker
Adrienne Adams led a turnout of
councilmembers that was the largest
ever to march in the parade,
including Julie Won, who “inherited”
the Sunnyside/Woodside district
from former member Jimmy
Van Bramer (who also marched,
in his latest role as an executive
team member of the Girl Scouts of
Greater New York).
Adams said the current council,
which now has a majority of
women members, also has “more
members of every color, fl avor, and
gender, including LGBTQ+ members”
than ever.
DONNA ACETO
DONNA ACETO
New York’s Congressional delegation
was represented by Senator
Chuck Schumer and included
Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney
and Grace Meng.
“We remember those who were
lost, and also think and pray for
those who took care of them and
those who grieve to this day,”
Schumer said.
New York State Attorney General
Leticia James drew some of the loudest
cheers of the day and laughed at
the annual joke that on St. Patrick’s
Day, her name is “Tish Jameson.”
Queens Borough president Donovan
Richards and District Attorney
Melinda Katz also brought
large delegations to march. State
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and
City Comptroller Brad Lander returned
as well, and the New York
State Senate and Assembly were
represented by State Senators
Michael Gianaris and Jessica Ramos,
as well as Assemblymembers
Catalina Cruz, David Weprin, and
Jessica González-Rojas.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
also led a delegation from his
offi ce. Ceyenne Doroshow, founder
of GLITS (Gays and Lesbians Living
in a Transgender Society),
marched in Williams’s group.
Parade-goers leaned out the windows
of their homes, held up their
children and their dogs, danced,
and clapped. There were empty
storefronts along the route, places
that didn’t survive the pandemic.
One sight that many hoped had
gone away during the pandemic
had not: The same group of bigots
known for holding homophobic
signs was in their usual place, accusing
everyone of “blaspheming”
with a “sacrilegious” parade.
The parade stepped off not much
later than it was scheduled to, led
by a color guard from the New York
City Police Department, then the
New York City Fire Department
Emerald Society Pipes and Drums.
The Gay Offi cers Action League
(GOAL) and FireFLAG, the FDNY’s
LGBTQ+ group, also marched.
Representing Transport Workers
Union 100 was a horse and
carriage (the drivers are members
of the union).
The fi rst marching band was
Fogo Azul NYC, the group of women,
trans, non-binary and gender
non-conforming drummers who
turned the beat around to the
crowd’s whoops and cheers.
Gays against Guns came next,
followed by Girl Scout Troop 4522.
Scouts BSA also marched.
The Irish for Racial Justice hoisted
a banner proclaiming “Black
Lives Matter” as well as “Solidarity
with refugees and immigrants.”
Dignity NY, an organization of
LGBTQ Catholics, was followed by
the City University of New York LGBTQIA+
Consortium and the AIDS
Center for Queens County.
The Lavender & Green Alliance
was led by Brendan Fay, who founded
St. Pat’s for All but has stepped
down from his role as co-chair.
Afterward, in Irish bars, marchers
gathered for their fi rst in-person
SPFA afterparty in two years.
“It was joyous!” said parade chair
Kathleen Walsh D’Arcy. “I was so
relieved that so many came to be
with all their friends…there were so
many people on the sidewalks, and
they were dancing and smiling.”
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