Mamdani to Skip Manhattan Columbus Day Parade, Angering Italians

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s relationship with New York’s Italian-American community remains strained.

Mamdani will not attend Monday’s Christopher Columbus Day parade along Fifth Avenue, The Post has learned.

The decision comes as little surprise given Mamdani’s longstanding criticism of Columbus, whom he has described as a colonizer who abused and displaced Native Americans.

In a June 2020 social media post, Mamdani directed an obscene gesture at a Christopher Columbus statue in Astoria, Queens, and wrote, “Take it down.”

Italian-American civic leaders said the mayor’s absence represents the latest sign that he is minimizing the community’s contributions to New York City and the United States.

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“He’s disrespectful to the Italian-American community, and not coming to the Columbus Day parade confirms it,” said Angelo Vivolo, chairman of the Columbus Heritage Coalition, which represents more than 50 Italian-American organizations.

“We know he hates Columbus. But the parade celebrates the rich culture and heritage of Italian-Americans.”

Mamdani also drew criticism from Italian-Americans after releasing a map of ethnic enclaves across the five boroughs that included lesser-known communities but left out Little Italy and the Bronx’s Arthur Avenue.

The mayor did release a nearly three-minute video message marking Italian Heritage Month.

In the statement, he praised the Italian immigrants who helped build New York and highlighted former East Harlem Rep. Vito Marcantonio, a champion of Social Security, unemployment benefits and civil rights.

Mamdani, a vocal critic of Israel who has accused the Jewish state of genocide, also declined to attend New York’s Israel Day parade in May.