By Nathan Duke
Thousands of residents were expected to line the streets of Maspeth, Ridgewood and Glendale Sunday and Monday for Memorial Day celebrations that will include parades, memorial services and food.
The Maspeth Memorial Day Parade, which celebrates its 24th anniversary this year, will kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday at the corner of Grand Avenue and 72nd Street in Maspeth and end around 2 p.m. at 69th Street and Grand Avenue, said David Daraio, of Maspeth Federal Savings Bank, which helps fund the parade.
“For Maspeth, this is one of the biggest [annual] events,” he said. “A lot of families from the neighborhood show up.”
Memorial services will follow the parade, which is estimated to draw more than 2,000 spectators, Daraio said.
Grand marshals for the parade include community volunteer Pauline Wolyniec, past president and current financial secretary of the Ladies Auxiliary Chapter 4 of the Frank Kowalinski Post of the Polish Legion of American Veterans, and Ernest Thompson, a former World War II and a Korean War veteran as well as the current national deputy chief of staff for the national Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Daraio said a number of western Queens elected officials were expected to attend the parade, including Borough President Helen Marshall; U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights); state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale); state Assembly members Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood) and Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth); and City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside).
World War II veteran and prisoner of war John Doddo, who lives in Maspeth, will also be honored at the parade.
The Ridgewood/Glendale Memorial Parade will celebrate its 70th year in the borough this year when it steps off from the corner of Myrtle and Cypress avenues in Ridgewood at 11 a.m. Monday, said Julius Landherr, parade chairman and member of the Allied Veterans of Greater Ridgewood and Glendale.
The parade will end at Myrtle and Cooper avenues in Glendale and will be followed by a memorial service with local clergy and food, Landherr said.
Six veterans posts and six bands will march in the parade, expected to draw between 4,000 and 5,000 people, Landherr said. Elected officials slated to march in the parade include Maltese, Nolan and City Council District 30 hopeful Anthony Como, who is running to replace former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher in an upcoming election.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
