New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has drawn renewed criticism from Italian Americans after skipping the city’s annual Columbus Day parade.
The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist did not appear at weekend celebrations held across the five boroughs honoring Christopher Columbus’ 1492 arrival in the Americas.
His absence was set to continue Monday. A spokeswoman confirmed to The New York Times that Mamdani would also miss the Manhattan parade.
Mamdani made his opposition to Columbus clear in 2020, when he shared an image of himself raising his middle finger toward a statue of the explorer and wrote, “take it down.”
Like other progressive politicians, Mamdani has described Columbus as a “colonizer,” arguing that his legacy includes the enslavement and mistreatment of Native Americans.
His decision to skip Monday’s event, combined with his outspoken views on Columbus, has prompted fresh accusations that the mayor is hostile toward New York City’s prominent Italian-American community.
The controversy follows another dispute from the summer, when the city released a map called “New York City Immigrant Enclaves” that omitted Little Italy neighborhoods in Manhattan and the Bronx.
Mamdani later acknowledged that the map needed to be revised after the City Council’s Italian Caucus accused his administration of “erasing” Italian-American culture and called the map “incomplete and insulting.”
Speaking to reporters, Mamdani said: “It’s clearly not an exhaustive list of the more than 200 ethnic enclaves.”
“We’re going to be making additional changes in the future to reflect that, including Little Italy.”
Mamdani, pictured at a press conference last week, skipped weekend events as New Yorkers across the five boroughs marked Columbus Day
In 2020, Mamdani signaled his opposition to Columbus by posting an image of himself giving the middle finger to a statue of the explorer
Although he did not attend the parades, Mamdani released a video marking Italian American Heritage Month, which is observed throughout October.
In the video, Mamdani praised the generations who traveled from Italy, declaring, “Italian American history is New York City history.”
The message did not mention Columbus and drew a sharp response from the head of the Italian American Civil Rights League.
Mike Crispi, the organization’s leader, said: “Zohran Mamdani thinks Italian Americans are stupid enough to be won over by a slick social media video and a few rehearsed compliments about our ancestors.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: Wagner rises from the ashes: Prigozhin's barbaric mercenaries are back – NewsFinale
“He has never apologized for giving the middle finger to Christopher Columbus or for the disrespect our community has endured.
“He wants to celebrate Italian Americans only when he can redefine our history through his own socialist ideology. We reject that completely.”
Organizers of Manhattan’s large Fifth Avenue parade said they had contacted the mayor personally to invite him.
Christopher Loiacono, president of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, told the New York Post last month that they reached out with the hopes of building a relationship with the mayor.
Over the summer, the city released a map titled ‘New York City Immigrant Enclaves’, but it didn’t include the Little Italy neighborhoods in either Manhattan or the Bronx
Mamdani is seen here during NYC Pride in June of this year
Last month he was appointed the honorary grand marshal of the West Indian American Day Parade
Mamdanis seen here alongside New York Governor Kathy Hochul celebrating Lunar New Year in Chinatown
Crispi hit out in his statement at Loiacono and the organizers, saying: ‘[Mamdani] has embarrassed the very people who bent over backward to accommodate him.
‘Mamdani skipping the parade changes absolutely nothing. Even if he showed up he would still owe Italian Americans an apology.’
In a statement, Council Member Joan Ariola added: ‘I’m proud that I was part of the chorus of Italian American voices that encouraged the mayor to stay away from Columbus Day celebrations.
‘Why would he want to be there? To get pictures? We will never forget the picture of him giving the statue of Christopher Columbus the middle finger.’
In not appearing over the weekend or on Monday, Mamdani has made good on a campaign promise he made during a mayoral debate last year.
He said: ‘There are many parades that I would not be attending because I’d be focusing on the work of leading the city.’
But he has made time in the past to attend parades celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, Lunar New Year as well as West Indian, Ecuadorean, LGBTQ, Puerto Rican, Dominican and Sikh communities in the city, the Times reported.
Mamdani’s spokeswoman did tell the outlet that he would be hosting an Italian American heritage reception inside Gracie Mansion in the next few weeks.
The Daily Mail approached the mayor’s office for further comment.