BY ROSE ADAMS
The Pride Parade, the
Puerto Rican Day Parade, the
Mermaid Parade, and all other
non-essential events in June
will be cancelled to stem the
spread of COVID-19, Mayor
Bill de Blasio announced on
April 20.
“These kind of community
events, we love them, but
they’re not what we need right
now. They’re not essential,” de
Blasio said in his daily coronavirus
briefi ng on April 2o. “The
bottom line is about safety.”
The mayor’s order calls off
many of the borough’s largest
events, including the 24th annual
Brooklyn Pride Parade,
Sunset Park’s Puerto Rican
Day Parade, and the Mermaid
Parade in Coney Island, which
would have celebrated its 38th
year this June.
Manhattan’s Dyke March,
Puerto Rican Day Parade, and
Pride March — now in its 50th
year — will also be cancelled.
O B S T E L R S H K’ O C U I S N
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Monday’s announcement
comes three days after de Blasio
cancelled all permit applications
for events in May,
cancelling the Brooklyn Half,
among other events.
The community events may
be rescheduled, although it’s
not yet clear when large gatherings
will be able to safely
proceed, de Blasio clarifi ed.
“A lot of these events will
be postponed. A lot of them are
looking at doing something
later in the year,” he said at
the press conference. “Then
we’ll work closely with them to
fi nd a time and place to do what
they do each year.”
Dick Zigun, the director of
the non-profi t arts organization
Coney Island USA who organizes
the Mermaid Parade
every year, said that he hopes
to reschedule the parade for
Mayor Bill de Blasio cancelled non-essential events in June because of the coronavirus outbreak, shutting
down the annual Mermaid Parade, Puerto Rican Day Parade and Brooklyn Pride Parade. Photo By Erica Price
later this summer.
“There will be some version
of the Mermaid Parade, ideally
a real parade in the street
later this summer. If not, then
maybe a virtual online parade,”
he said.
Regardless of the parade’s
fate, Zigun will still offer merchandise
for the postponed
event and plans to announce
the event’s newest King Neptune
and Queen Mermaid
sometime in the next few days.
“I hope you’re all Broadway
fans!” he said, hinting at this
year’s King and Queen.
Meanwhile, the organizer of
Sunset Park’s Puerto Rican Day
Parade said that he hopes to replace
the festive celebration
with an event that honors the
lives that have been lost during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If we do something, it
won’t be a Puerto Rican Day
Parade,” said Dennis Flores,
who runs the grassroots organization
El Grito. “I think that
it would be appropriate for the
community to come together
and make some space for people
that have died.”
End of march
Brooklyn Pride Parade,
Puerto Rican Day Parade, and
Mermaid Parade cancelled
NICK’S LOBSTER HOUSE
understands that we are all going
through a tough time.
Nick’s Lobster House is continuing
its 65 years of service to its neighbors,
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