Mamdani draws ire from Polish American leaders for not attending Pulaski Day parade: ‘He was elected to represent all New Yorkers’

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced backlash from Polish American leaders after declining an invitation to the Pulaski Day Parade, an annual celebration on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. He also drew criticism for replacing the traditional Polish Heritage Night at Gracie Mansion with a broader “Eastern European” reception, according to the New York Post.

“Polish Americans are one of the largest European ethnic communities in America. Lumping Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians together shows shocking historical ignorance and disrespect,” said Grzegorz Fryc, a longtime NYC Polish activist and business leader. “Mayor Mamdani couldn’t be bothered to attend the Pulaski Day Parade, and now his administration wants to replace the traditional Polish Heritage celebration at Gracie Mansion with some generic ‘Eastern European’ event.”

Most Poles identify as Central European and reject the “Eastern European” label, primarily due to its historical association with Soviet communism and the Warsaw Pact. That view sharpened criticism of Mamdani’s choice, with one community leader asking, “Would City Hall combine Jewish and Palestinian heritage celebrations into one generic ‘Middle Eastern’ event? Of course not. This is another slap in the face to our community and an embarrassment for the mayor’s office.”

Not the first time Mamdani skips other communities’ parades

Mamdani ended the Gracie Mansion tradition his predecessor, Eric Adams, started in 2024 by canceling the yearly breakfast reception honoring Polish heritage. In its place, the Mayor’s Office sent out invitations last week for an Eastern European reception scheduled for Oct. 22 at Gracie Mansion.

Three days before the parade, during a press conference in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Mamdani was asked whether he planned to accept his invitation. He said he didn’t know whether his schedule would allow it, telling Polish-language Radio RAMPA, “We will get back to you.” On the day, Mamdani chose to visit the Our Lady Salam church on Staten Island, described as “the first Arabic-speaking Lutheran parish on Staten Island”:

“Mamdani needs to understand that he was elected to represent all New Yorkers, not just the communities he chooses to show up for,” another top Polish community leader said. The same leader added, “Mamdani’s blatant disrespect for European communities, especially Polish New Yorkers, is absolutely disgraceful,” and said, “Snubbing the Pulaski Day Parade was insulting enough, but refusing to host a Polish heritage celebration at Gracie Mansion for one of this city’s largest ethnic communities is a slap in the face to hundreds of thousands of Polish Americans.”

This is not the first time Mayor Mamdani has avoided parades since taking office in January. For example, last week he infuriated Italian New Yorkers by refusing to attend Columbus Day parades in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, citing his opposition to Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. He also declined to participate in the German-American Steuben Parade in September and the Israel Day Parade in May.

By contrast, Mamdani showed Europe some love when he marched in the famed St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebrating Irish pride in March and the Greek Independence Day Parade in May. City Hall spokesperson Jimmy Wyderko declined to address the decision to include Polish Americans in the Eastern European event, but said: “Mayor Mamdani is deeply grateful and proud of the contributions Polish Americans have made towards our city in Greenpoint, Ridgewood and across all five boroughs – and we are excited to host Polish New Yorkers at Gracie Mansion.”