New Yorkers were up in arms after the annual Columbus Day Parade was canceled because of the nor’easter blowing through the city, the first time in its nearly 100-year history it was scrapped due to weather.
“They f’n cancelled Columbus Day Parade in NYC because of rain,” one irate person, Jack W, wrote on X.
“RAIN!! That’s such a bs excuse & you know why! We don’t care if it’s rain, we want our parades etc back!!” he added.
The parade — which would have been its 81st running — was called off late Sunday, just 12 hours ahead of its scheduled Monday morning start time, with no plans to be rescheduled.
Forecasts for the holiday have been wet and windy for days, and many spent the weekend wondering whether Monday’s parade would go ahead despite the weather.
It appeared to still be on, however, until Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Sunday evening and parade organizers made the call.
“Due to the Governor’s declaration of a State of Emergency this evening in response to the dangerous weather conditions brought on by the Nor’easter, including high winds, heavy rain, and flooding in surrounding areas, we must cancel the 81st Annual Columbus Day Parade for the safety of all participants and viewers,” the Columbus Citizens Foundation, which runs the parade, posted on Instagram.
This year marked the first time the parade was ever canceled over weather since its debut in 1929, NBC New York reported, and the first time since the 2020 pandemic it’s been canceled at all.
But while Sunday night brought heavy rains to the area, by Monday the worst of the weather was on the coastline, the city facing only a dreary day of steady sprinkles and gusting winds — leaving some New Yorkers fuming that the show could have gone on.
“It’s barely raining!” one person responded to the Instagram post.
“Wait! @NYCMayor et al CANCELLED the #ColumbusDayParade because it’s raining?!” one X user fumed, erroneously blaming the city for the decision to cancel.
“What happened to tough NYC? Wussy girlie men can’t handle a little rain?! The last Columbus Day parade before Mamdani gets in? How could you be so wimpy? Grow a spine NYC! #ColumbusDay2025,” they added.
The irate parade fan wasn’t the only one worried about the future of Columbus Day in NYC — Mayor Eric Adams himself has expressed fears that it could come under fire if Zohran Mamdani wins his race for City Hall in November.
Mamdani has long expressed his disdain for Christopher Columbus, notably flashing a statue of the Italian explorer — long credited as one of the first Europeans to sail to the Americas — with the middle finger in 2020 and writing “Take it down” in a 2020 X post.
Many were also irked that while the Columbus Day parade was canceled, a “Gaza 5k” raising funds for a Hamas-tied charity went ahead in Brooklyn Sunday as the storm bore down on the city — a race Mamdani ran in.
“Any comment about the Gaza 5k that took place yet the Columbus Day parade was cancelled????” one angry user wrote, tagging Gov. Hochul and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
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