Double Dose of Asian Parades Delights Midtown Crowds

If you heard the sound of thousands of marching, dancing Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) feet in midtown on Sunday, June 1, it wasn’t your vivid imagination: There really were two boisterous parades going on only two avenues and a couple dozen blocks apart.

With temperatures in the comfortable 70s and an afternoon of intermittent sun, rarely has the classic Harold Arlen-Ted Koehler song “I Love a Parade” seemed more apt.

The larger of the two events was the Fourth Annual AAPI Cultural Heritage Parade, nearly all of whose participants are Chinese. Which is fine, of course, but it does make one wonder why the parade, which is organized by Better Chinatown of 217 Centre St. in Manhattan, is held under the AAPI banner. For an overview of this puzzle, see last year’s Straus News story, “AAPI Parade Dazzles Midtown – But What Shadows Lurk Behind the Drums & Dragons”?

There were exceptions to the parade’s mostly Chinese cast, starting with Mayor Eric Adams, whose close relationship with his since- resigned Chinese community liaison Winnie Greco, is believed to have been one cause of Hizzoner’s myriad legal woes of 2023-24.

But that was then. With his case dismissed in the Year of the Snake, parade organizers sang Grand Marshal Mayor Adams’s praises loudly, as he did theirs, in a pre-event ceremony on West 44th Street just off the Sixth Avenue parade route. Indeed, it was Hizzoner—who wore a blue-and-white “Mayor Adams” baseball cap—who arranged for Better Chinatown to have this coveted thoroughfare, the most prestigious of all midtown parade routes.

Some forceful speeches in Mandarin, as well as dragon dancing, drumming, and many blasts of confetti poppers were also part of this prelude. Along with various Chinese dignitaries, representatives of Republican State Sentator from Brooklyn Stephen Chan (aka “Chan the Man”) were present, likewise an affable contingent of DCPI (Deputy Commissioner of Public Information) cops, who are part of NYPD’s press office.

Curiously, the only other solon evident was Democratic State Senator and mayoral candidate Zellnor Myrie, whose workers handed out bilingual English and Chinese campaign cards before he showed up later in the afternoon. The presence of Myrie—a moderate progressive whose central Brooklyn’s District 20 stretches from Park Slope to East Flatbush—suggests that the vote of law-and-order Chinese Democrats might be up for grabs.

The parade itself, which marched north to 55th Street, was loud and exuberant. Among the non-Chinese participants: a contingent of Black custom-car enthusiasts and a group of Vietnamese marchers.

A Great Day for Filipinos

Meanwhile, down on Madison Avenue it was time for the 35th Annual Philippine Independence Day Parade. The event is often overlooked because of the competition—last year it was held the same day as the epic Israel Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.

If this is an unfortunate fate for the largest Philippine Independence Day parade held outside of Manila, it’s still a joyous, and dazzling, spectacle that makes even an allegedly “objective” reporter want to wear bright colors, vigorously wave a Filipino flag around, dance, and scarf down halo-halo, a renowned national dessert made of shaved ice, milk, and fruit.

Organized by the Philippine Independence Day Committee, Inc., with the cooperation of the Philippine Consulate General in New York, the theme of this year’s event was “Embrace and Preserve Our Culture by Uniting and Empowering the Future.”

Today, the sprawling Pacific Island nation of more than 114 million people includes 10 distinct ethnic groups, with Tagalog (26 percent), followed by Bisaya (14.3 percent) being most numerous. Though the Philippines is mostly Catholic, there are other Christian denominations, Muslims, and indigenous beliefs. Syncretism is also common.

Philippine Independence Day’s historic date is June 12, 1898, when the nation declared its independence from Spain. New York’s parade is held the first Sunday in June because the second Sunday is reserved for the giant Puerto Rican Day Parade, with which no one wishes to compete.

This year’s Grand Marshals were Dr. Emilio and Angie Cruz-Quines, whose heartwarming octogenarian love story was the subject of a 2023 New York Times piece.

Though no politicians appeared to be in attendance—their loss—the Adams administration made its presence felt with motorcycle cops, a pair of NYPD mounted officers (followed by a pair of sanitation workers to clean up after the horses); and the NYPD marching band.

Thouands of marchers on floats and on foot followed, destination Madison Square Park, where more entertainment and a wondrous street and food fair on East 26th Street followed. Halo-halo for everyone!