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Mayor to March in Two St. Patrick's Day Parades in Queens This Weekend

By Katie Honan | March 3, 2016 11:56am
 Mayor Bill de Blasio marches in 2015's St. Pat's for All Parade in Sunnyside, Queens.
Mayor Bill de Blasio marches in 2015's St. Pat's for All Parade in Sunnyside, Queens.
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DNAinfo/Katie Honan

BELLE HARBOR — The mayor will march in two St. Patrick's Day parades in Queens this weekend — including one that he was booed at last year after turning up late.

Bill de Blasio will attend the Rockaway St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 5, his office said. It's the peninsula's 41st annual parade and steps off from Beach 129th Street and Newport Avenue in Belle Harbor at 1 p.m.

Last year, he missed the first 12 blocks of the parade, blaming his lateness on an earlier meeting.

When he finally joined the parade he was met with jeers, boos and, at one stretch, silence.

"Welcome to New York City," he said when asked about his reception. 

"People in our city have strong views on everything, and certainly that's true in the Rockaways as well."

De Blasio 30 Minutes Late to Rockaway St. Patrick's Day Parade
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DNAinfo/Katie Honan

On Sunday, the mayor will march in the St. Pat's For All parade, which starts at 47th Street and Skillman Avenue at 2 p.m. 

He will also march for the first time in the parade on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue on March 17, which now allows gay groups to march under their own banner.

De Blasio had previously boycotted the parade because of its lack of inclusion.

“The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a New York City tradition, but for years Irish LGBT New Yorkers could not show their pride," he said in a statement.

"Finally, they can celebrate their heritage by marching in a parade that now represents progress and equality. New York wouldn’t be New York without the contribution of Irish New Yorkers, and today they have another reason to be proud of that contribution.”