Queens celebrates Pride Month with parade as politics intrudes on fun

The borough of Queens joined in on Pleasure Month festivities with a joyous parade Sunday, however political snubs and infighting solid a shadow over the rainbow-hued celebration.

Mayor Adams marched within the colourful procession with the Homosexual Officers Motion League of the New York Police Division — which has been excluded for a second 12 months from marching in uniform in Manhattan’s a lot greater Homosexual Pleasure Parade on June 26.

“We’re actually enthusiastic about marching as we speak. I’m filled with pleasure,” stated the mayor, who himself has come beneath hearth for naming two Christian pastors to his administration who had made anti-gay remarks.

The hundreds of paradegoers alongside the route appeared unfazed by the politics and welcomed the raucous celebration, particularly after COVID-19 dampened Pleasure occasions for the previous two years.

“It’s fantastic to see all these individuals celebrating. It’s an vital a part of the neighborhood,” stated Sarah Balistrere, 43, of Jackson Heights, which she described as “a really queer-friendly group.”

“And after the previous two years, simply being right here is wonderful,” she added.

Sporting a brightly hued hat of feathers and sequins, Darren Glenn, 33, of the Caribbean Equality Venture stated the parade felt like coming residence.

“This seems like a return to group,” stated Glenn, program director of the regionally primarily based group that advocates for the rights of LGBTQ Caribbean immigrants. “I’m seeing individuals I haven’t seen in such a very long time.’

The cheerful occasion, held beneath picture-perfect blue skies, was the borough’s thirtieth annual pleasure parade however new to some.

“It’s my first time. I’m new to the group,” stated Paweena Prachanronarong, 41, who stated her 16-year-old daughter simply got here out as transgender.

“I’m very glad to see there’s already a variety of love and positivity,” the Manhattan mother stated. “So her being part of this group, I’m simply glad there’s love right here.”

The mayor, in his first 12 months in workplace for June Pleasure Month, took to the Queens streets regardless of a latest rift with some members of the homosexual group.

5 of the town’s largest LGBTQ golf equipment have stated they’d boycott a Pleasure Month reception that Adams plans to host on Tuesday at Gracie Mansion as a consequence of what they see as his insufficient dedication to homosexual rights.

Led by the Stonewall Democrats of New York Metropolis, they have been angered by Adams’ choice to rent two Christian pastors for senior administration roles regardless of their histories of anti-gay views.

A spokesman for Adams has since responded that the mayor has taken official actions to push for LGBTQ rights and inclusivity, met with members of the boycotting teams and plans to make extra LGBTQ-related advocacy bulletins this month.

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell additionally walked the Queens parade route with the homosexual officers’ group often known as GOAL, which represents officers from the NYPD and different regulation enforcement organizations.

Organizers of the Manhattan parade and different pleasure teams across the nation have taken a stand towards uniformed cops in parades in protest towards police mistreatment of members of the LGBTQ, Black and different communities.

GOAL President Brian Downey stated “it hurts” to be excluded from the parade historically held in Greenwich Village, particularly for some homosexual officers to whom the LGBTQ group is like household.

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“The borough of Queens has been very supportive, and we’re tremendous grateful that we have been allowed to march with them,” Downey stated.

“I believe through the years we made progress within the felony justice area,” he added. “Standing in entrance of me, you’ve gotten these women and men that signify variety.”

Lacking out on the Greenwich Village parade is not any loss, stated Micheal Kahane, 32, a Crown Heights, Brooklyn, resident.

“I like this parade as a result of it’s extra group centered and fewer company just like the Manhattan one,” he stated. “It’s simply good to be round my individuals once more.”

Queens resident Betty Peña, 52, referred to as the day’s spectacle “very emotional.”

“I’m loving the parade. I’m right here supporting the LGBGT group,” she stated. “It simply makes me glad that they’re in a position to do that and have a spot in our society. Pleasure is about being right here and having a group.”

This 12 months’s parade honored Jackson Heights resident Julio Rivera, a 29-year-old homosexual Puerto Rican man who was attacked and killed in a schoolyard in 1990. The Queens Pleasure Parade started as a approach to honor Rivera and lift consciousness of the LGBTQ group.