By Rich Bockmann
The Rockaways and Sunnyside celebrated St. Patrick’s Day over the weekend with their annual parades.
Along with “Erin go bragh,” resiliency was on the tips of parade-goers tongues Saturday as the Rockaways hosted their second St. Pat’s celebration since Superstorm Sandy hit the peninsula.
“It is amazing how strong Rockaway’s been for the entire borough and I want to thank you for that strength, that resiliency,” Borough President Melinda Katz, with the beach to her back, told a green-clad crowd that gathered along Shore Front Parkway on a mild afternoon.
On Sunday, high-profile revelers came out to march in the city’s all-inclusive Irish celebration.
“This parade is what New York City is all about. This is a parade that celebrates inclusion, diversity [and] unity,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio, who plans to skip the Fifth Avenue parade in protest of organizers’ ban on LGBT groups. “That is what this city is about. That is what has made this city strong.”
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
