Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined Brooklyn’s Columbus Day Parade invitation and never answered Queens organizers, a move Italian American residents called a slap in the face to their community.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani turned down an invitation to Brooklyn’s annual Columbus Day Parade and left Queens organizers without a reply, as Italian American leaders and residents voiced deep frustration over the snub.

The New York Post reported that the Mayor’s Office confirmed the Brooklyn decline on Thursday after organizers from the Federation of Italian American Organizations of Brooklyn had sent the invitation weeks earlier. The parade runs along 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst.

Organizers of the Queens Columbus Day Parade in Astoria said Mamdani never responded to their invitation at all. That event concluded near the Columbus statue by Astoria Boulevard. Sources also said the mayor was unlikely to attend the larger Columbus Day Parade along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Monday, run by the Columbus Citizens Foundation.

The pattern landed hard with residents who expected their mayor to show up for a heritage celebration that marks one of the city’s long-standing Italian American traditions.

Residents call the no-show a direct insult

Paul DeSpirito, 53, who runs a neighborhood Italian sandwich and catering business, did not mince words about what the absence signaled.

DeSpirito said:

"It’s a slap in the face to the Italian American community,"

Albert Esposito, a 72-year-old retired school teacher, tied the snub to basic representation.

Esposito said:

"It’s very disappointing because we elected him the mayor, and he is supposed to be representing everybody,"

One man who asked to stay anonymous went further and said he was glad Mamdani stayed away, adding, “F*** you! He wouldn’t be welcomed.” The Mayor’s Office did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Carlo Scissura, vice chairman of the FAIO of Brooklyn, declined to address the snub directly and instead stressed pride in the event itself.

Scissura said:

"We are proud and excited to host our annual parade, a powerful celebration of Italian American heritage, pride and culture."

Council Speaker Julie Menin, a moderate Democrat who has repeatedly clashed with Mamdani over his far-left agenda, served as grand marshal at the Brooklyn parade.

That friction fits a broader record of governing fights, including his push to halt teacher bonuses that drew union backlash.

Queens leaders say the history fight never ends

In Astoria, FAIO of Queens executive director Angie Markham said Mamdani’s absence would not sink the parade.

Markham said it “isn’t gonna make or break the event for me.” Then she framed the larger dispute.

Markham said:

"People wanna change history. It is what it is. This is the day we chose to [honor] Italian heritage. The Spanish have a whole month. The blacks have a whole month. We have one day. Leave us alone!"

Jerry Iannece, a criminal court judge and parade chairman, called the disdain for Columbus from Mamdani and other far-left politicians “misguided.” He added that “there’s a lot of people who want to revise history.”

Christopher Loiacono, president of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, and other leaders of the Manhattan parade group did not return messages. The foundation had extended an invitation and drew heat from other Italian American groups for trying to reach out.

Voters watching City Hall have also seen Mamdani’s administration face scrutiny on other fronts, from a City Council hearing on a secret influencer operation to sharp debates over who gets priority in public services.

Earlier fights over Columbus and Little Italy

The parade absences did not arrive in a vacuum. In 2020, Mamdani posted on social media while flipping the bird at the Christopher Columbus statue in Astoria, the same monument near where the Queens parade ended. The caption read, “Take it down.” That year he also won a race to represent the neighborhood in the state Assembly. The post resurfaced during last year’s mayoral race.

In July, his administration released a city map of immigrant enclaves that left off Little Italy, a nationally recognized historic district, along with other beloved ethnic neighborhoods. Mamdani insisted the list was not “exhaustive” and said future versions would be amended to include Little Italy.

Italian American New Yorkers heard those choices as more than paperwork. They heard a mayor comfortable slighting a community that expected equal respect.

The same administration has drawn conservative criticism on core city issues, including hospital access rules that favor illegal immigrants while citizens face Medicaid limits, and a months-long drive for sweeping tax hikes that could hit homeowners hard.

Public controversies have followed him as well, including the moment Mamdani and AOC were caught laughing during a 9/11 victims’ name reading at Ground Zero.

A mayor’s calendar is a statement of priorities

Mamdani offered no public explanation in the reporting for skipping Brooklyn, ignoring Queens, or steering clear of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue march. Organizers and residents filled the silence with their own verdict: a socialist mayor treating Italian American heritage as optional.

Brooklyn’s parade went forward on Saturday without him. Queens did the same. Manhattan’s larger event still loomed. Community voices kept returning to the same point, elected leaders represent everyone, or they do not.

When a mayor blanks heritage parades and leaves working-class neighborhoods to celebrate alone, voters notice who gets the cold shoulder and who does not.