Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s absence from New York City’s iconic Columbus Day Parade drew sharp criticism from Italian Americans, with gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman calling the decision “disgraceful” and “divisive.”
“It’s indicative of him being the most divisive mayor we’ve ever had,” Blakeman told The Post while attending Monday’s parade on Fifth Avenue.
“I think that’s an affront to Italian Americans,” Blakeman said. “The fact is that he is a very divisive guy. He’s got people at each other’s throats. As an elected official, you’re supposed to make people happy, bring them together.”
Although Blakeman is not Italian, his comments reflected the anger expressed by many Italian Americans at the parade.
“It’s very sad. He should be here, he represents this city,” said 33-year-old Brooklyn resident Mike Gullo, who described Mamdani’s absence as “insulting.”
“It’s very disrespectful. You can ask anyone here and they would say the same,” Gullo added.
News of Mamdani’s decision to skip the parade emerged Sunday, though it came as little surprise. The left-wing mayor has long criticized Christopher Columbus, portraying the Italian explorer as a colonizer and criminal because of his violent treatment of Indigenous people.
Mamdani has also shown little regard for the important place Columbus holds in the history and identity of many Italian Americans. They revere the explorer as a central figure in American history for his famous 1492 voyage, which brought the New World into sustained contact with Europe.
For years, Mamdani has emphasized the darker chapters of Columbus’ legacy and joined calls from the left to remove monuments honoring him. In 2020, he notably posted “Take it down” alongside a photo of himself making an obscene gesture toward a statue of Columbus in Queens.
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That history left some parade-goers relieved that the mayor chose not to attend.
“It’s better that he’s not here,” said Anne Marie, a 60-year-old resident of Woodside. “It probably would have been controversial. Nobody wants to look at his face.”
“I think it’s horrible,” she continued. “I’m not surprised he’s not here.”
“I’m happy,” 79-year-old Camile Staffe said of Mamdani’s absence. “It’s about the Italians.”
“Italy doesn’t get enough credit, but we contribute to America. They try to make it about Indigenous people. It’s not fair,” Staffe said. “My grandfather helped build the Empire State Building.”
Mamdani’s stance on Columbus is not the only issue prompting concern among Italian American New Yorkers. A July administration map highlighting New York City’s “Immigrant Enclaves” listed neighborhoods including Little Yemen, Little Pakistan and Koreatown, but left out Little Italy.
The omission was notable because Little Italy is one of New York’s most recognizable immigrant neighborhoods, with a reputation known around the world.
“Leaving Little Italy off the map, he’s definitely against the Italian people,” Anne Marie said. “He’s trying to make them irrelevant. That’s not going to happen.”
Curtis Sliwa, Mamdani’s former mayoral opponent and an Italian American, offered a blunt assessment of the mayor’s conduct: “We have a word for that in the streets. It’s disgrazia.”
“He has said basically ‘uufa’ to Italian Americans, and that is disgrazia,” Sliwa added.