Angry Irish Americans booed Mayor Michael Bloomberg over his handling of Hurricane Sandy at the Rockaways St Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday.
The Queens neighborhood devastated by the storm left the Mayor in no doubt as to how they felt.
Mayor Bloomberg was reminded of the devastation as he passed by dozens of boarded-up businesses and damaged homes along the route.
The work still to be done – and the city’s response to the hurricane – touched a raw nerve with the local Irish community as they celebrated their annual parade.
The New York Daily News reports that the Mayor was dogged by jeers and booed by some residents frustrated with the city’s response to Hurricane Sandy.
Local resident Margaret Wagner told the paper: “I booed loudly. We had no food, no shelter. People died here, and Bloomberg was on TV talking about a marathon. It’s appalling.”
She was referring to Bloomberg’s insistence the New York marathon go ahead making it a top priority despite dreadful conditions in the Rockaways and elsewhere after the storm.
In a move seen as an attempt to deflect some of the boos, the report says that Bloomberg marched with a group of Sanitation workers who toiled in the Rockaways after the storm.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the mayoral frontrunner, briefly walked with Bloomberg but then fell back along the route according to the paper.
Other City Hall hopefuls, including Controller John Liu, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, ex-Controller Bill Thompson and ex-MTA chair Joe Lhota also marched.
The Democrats have stated they will not march in the Fifth Ave. St. Patrick’s Day parade due to the organizers’ ban on openly gay groups.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.barryroecork | Mar 07, 2013, 08:12 PM EST
Were either Ms. Quinn or Mr. Bloomberg the Grand Marshall?? If not who was?
ancavker | Mar 04, 2013, 03:15 PM EST
STEVEN: I bet the next time I am in Ireland, I see you in your Man Utd. Jersey!!
Sokc8130 | Mar 04, 2013, 10:39 AM EST
So many clueless comments to address.....alright, those people were left to rot after sandy. The aisling Irish center gave them help by collecting donations of food, flashlights, clothes and delivering them every weekend. They also organized (and are still doing so) volunteers for manual labor and also to go door to door checking on people. I think the first trip out they did was less than a week after sandy and that was the first time the people in the rockaways had ANYONE come out with aid. The Irish went every weekend to help, where was anyone else? People still don't have power, they're still cleaning and trying to rebuild and what help have they been given aside from volunteers. I don't blame them for booing Bloomberg. Robin forester, I hope if you ever lfind yourself in this situation u will think back on your kind words "wait your turn". See how you like being left with no heat and electricity for an entire winter.
chicksooze | Mar 04, 2013, 10:14 AM EST
Boo'ed? That's it? They should have thrown rotten tomatoes at him, he deserves it. He's rotten to the core, all he thinks about is making more money and more money, his greed is atrocious. Trying to make the marathon go ahead above these people's suffering is a prime example of what he's made of. I can't WAIT until his term is finally over, he's disgusting.
anglo-norman | Mar 04, 2013, 12:31 AM EST
StevenStar- Grow Up son
STEVENSTAR | Mar 03, 2013, 10:27 PM EST
SEE THE THING IS IN IRELAND WE DONT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH GAY PEOPLE AS A MATTER OF FACT WE ARE INTRODUCING GAY MARRIAGE HERE SOON. ITS AMERICANS HAVE PROBLEMS WITH GAY MARRIAGE.. I AS AN IRISH PERSON HAVE A HUGE PROBLEMS WITH AMERICANS HI#JACKING OUR ST PATRICKS DAY PARADE AND SENDING THIS BACKWARDS ATTITUDE ALL OVER THE WORLD!!! WHY DONT YOU PEOPLE CELEBRATE BEEN AMERICAN AND STOP TYRING TO STEAL OUR HERITAGE AND CULTURE !!!
STEVENSTAR | Mar 03, 2013, 10:24 PM EST
NO HE WASN'T HE WAS BOOED BY AMERICANS ... IM IRISH I LIVE IN IRELAND AND HAVE AN IRISH PASSPORT I ONLY NEED TO LOOK AT THOSE PHOTOS OF THE MAN AND WOMEN IN THE WHITE SOUVENIR SHOP WOLLY JUMPERS, THE GREEN TIES AND THE MARCHING DOWN THE STREETS WITH IRISH FLAGS TO KNOW THESE PEOPLE ARE AMERICAN .. SORRY BUT YOU DONT FOOL A TRUE IRISH MAN ;-)!!!!
bob mcbride | Mar 03, 2013, 09:28 PM EST
There are irish homosexuals no doubt but st.paddys day isnt about being gay its about being irish! So take your grandstanding elsewhere, maybe a gay pride parade, pride week think about it? Maybe u can start a low IQ parade and the taxpayers will pay for it philb?
Pittsburghkid | Mar 03, 2013, 08:14 PM EST
pilib The parade is non-sexual. Is their a heterosexual banner in the parade? Homophobia is a natural response not a disease.
pilib04 | Mar 03, 2013, 06:56 PM EST
Seanmor, its different now. Attitudes towards Homophobia have changed, I doubt the old timers are going to be able to maintain this Homophobic parade much longer on the taxpayers dime! It's very similar to the sectarian Orange Order parades.
RobinForester | Mar 03, 2013, 05:52 PM EST
Leave Bloomberg be, the guys a valuable assett and those alleged Iirsh citizens were wrong to boo him, he deserves better than that. Sansy was a nuke'bomb of sort, no matter what he did there's going to be delays, waits, hold ups, and anger, but it should not be at him but at the storm and the damage it caused. Wait your turn and be patient is the message.
Seanmor | Mar 03, 2013, 03:49 PM EST
The NYC St. Patrick'd Day parade has taken place every year since 1761, 15 years before the Declaration of Independence, and 160 years before the establishment of the Irish Free State. The purpose of the parade is to celebrate St. Patrick who converted the Irish nation to Christianity, not to change social norms or moral values. To my knowledge, no one have eved been banned from this great parade solely because of his or her sxual orientation, but homosexuals are not permitted to march under theirb own banner. This parade has survived the 1983 and 1985 boycotts of the Catholic Church,the Free State government and the U.S. military, and it will also withstand being boycotted by the Democratic Party. Go mbeannaí Dia Meiriceá agus go sábhaile Dia Éire.
pilib04 | Mar 03, 2013, 01:22 PM EST
The Democrats won't march in the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade. I doubt that is going to last long. I would suggest, such a boycott may spell the beginning of the end of the anti-gay discrimination by the Parade Committee not matter what "20k" Dolan has to say.
Oldloadr | Mar 03, 2013, 12:20 PM EST
So when are the media and the dems going to apologize to George W. for the flogging they gave him over Katrina? ... didn't think so.
merefalow | Mar 03, 2013, 11:50 AM EST
havent you cottoned on yet,sport is the new religion,the equivalant of the roman games.Feed enough to the plebs and they will forget whats realy going on and just what a royal shafting they are getting.
Joe Kelsall | Mar 03, 2013, 11:10 AM EST
Perhaps Mayor bloomberg should have practised those qualities he praised so highly in Metanyahu? New Yorkers' admiration and support for Israel are strong and unshakable,” he said. “We appreciate the powerful stresses that Gilad Shalit’s long captivity placed on the Israeli people. It was my privilege to march with his parents in our city’s Salute to Israel parade two years ago.” Bloomberg added that Israelis’ outpouring of feelings about Shalit’s release last week shows “the toughness and the resiliency of Israel’s national character.” “The easiest response in a crisis is to do nothing,” Bloomberg told Netanyahu. “But that’s not what governing is about, and so you certainly have our admiration for shouldering the burdens of leadership and doing what you thought was necessary.”
OldMariner | Mar 03, 2013, 10:41 AM EST
I have not been a New Yorker for over 50 years, so I'm not up-to-date on the city's finances and understanding what was realistically the city was supposed to do in the Rockaways and Staten Island, where some of my unaffected relatives still live? The state, with FEMA's lead, has the major responsibility for aid needed in these areas, IMHO. Also, Bloomberg has been criticized by some of the Rockaway residents talking about the Marathon while there was still suffering - was holding the St. Patrick's day parade an amelioration of this misery?
johnozed | Mar 03, 2013, 09:41 AM EST
Peter King lol
Fitzyboy | Mar 03, 2013, 08:31 AM EST
Peter King for President!!