NEW YORK CITY: Mayor De Blasio To March With Irish LGBT Group In First St. Patrick’s Parade Appearance

Stand by for the usual fit from Bill Donohue. Irish Central reports:

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will, for the first time ever, march in this year’s New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade, the Irish Voice has learned. The mayor, who refused to take part in the parade in prior years due to the exclusion of gay Irish groups walking behind an identifying banner, will likely march up Fifth Avenue twice on March 17.

He will join a group that has yet to be determined at the front of the march – traditionally, the mayor has marched with the NYPD — and return later in the day to support the Irish gay group Lavender and Green Alliance which will march in the parade for the first time at approximately 4 p.m.

The New York City Council is also expected to have a large contingent marching behind its banner in 2016. For the past two years the council has declined to take part in the parade in an official capacity at the direction of City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, also because Irish gay groups were barred from marching.

Launched in 1762, New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade draws over two million spectators and 150,000 participants.

RELATED: The St. Pats For All Parade, which was created years ago in reaction to LGBT groups being banned from the Manhattan parade, will take place once again in Queens on March 6th. Last year’s grand marshal was Panti Bliss.