Category Archives: Dominican Day Parade

Mayoral Frenemies



Mayoral frenemies Bo Dietl and Nicole Malliotakis crossed paths this afternoon, just ahead of the Dominican Day Parade on Sixth Avenue.  With their respective parade contingents lining up on the same block, Dietl and Malliotakis orbited around each other without interacting for a while, greeting supporters, talking with the press and saying hello to a mix of cops and marchers.  They eventually came face to face, however, engaging and brushing each other off as a large press contingent stood nearby.

Dietl and Malliotakis share the goal of unseating Mayor de Blasio, but have obviously opposite strategies as to who should supplant him.  They appeal to a largely overlapping slice of the electorate and face the prospect of simply dividing the anti-de Blasio vote, with both defeated by de Blasio in a crushing vote.  That tension is quite apparent.

Here’s how it unfolded:

 

Sidenote:  A look at a prior dietl/Malliotakis campaign trail interaction is here.

Mayoral Candidates On Charlottesville



Here’s what Democratic mayoral candidate (and incumbent mayor) Bill de Blasio, Republican mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis and independent mayoral candidate Bo Dietl had to say about the Charlottesville violence and President Trump’s statement.  Each spoke just ahead of today’s Dominican Day Parade in Manhattan; de Blasio in a statement to an assembled press pack (without taking any questions) and Malliotakis and Dietl in separate brief interviews with me.  Video of their respective full statements is below.  Continue reading Mayoral Candidates On Charlottesville

Photo Gallery: Dominican Day Parade (Updated)



Dominican Day Parade 8-14-16It was a Sixth Avenue sauna for the annual Dominican Day Parade today, as marchers made their way up a hot and humid Sixth Avenue.   The crowd was smaller than past years, perhaps due to the uncomfortable weather.

Dominican Day Parade 8-14-16Mayor Bill de Blasio was the political headliner, joining numerous members of Congress, state legislators and city council members (including Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito) and fellow City-wide electeds Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Tish James.  Among the legislators were State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Assembly Member Guillermo Linares and Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, each born in the Dominican Republic.  de Blasio did not hold a Q&A or take press questions, and reporters and photographers were kept well away from the Mayor as he marched.  Governor Andrew Cuomo, the honoree at the 2015 Dominican Day Parade breakfast, did not attend.

Dominican Day Parade 8-14-16

Photo Gallery:

Our Dominican Day Parade photo gallery is here.

Dominican Day Parade Photo Gallery



Visit our Dominican Day Parade photo gallery, available here.  A few of the photos are below.

There’s plenty of past rivalries and friction to unwind in this photo of Espaillat, Rangel, Schneiderman and Cuomo.  Dominican Day Parade breakfast host Adriano Espaillat has twice lost to Rep.  Charles Rangel, but they now appear to have a good relationship.  Governor Cuomo and AG Schneiderman have long had friction but now are cooperating.  Cuomo endorsed Rangel over Espaillat in the 2014 congressional primary, but endorsed Espaillat over a Rangel-allied challenger in the 2014 state senate primary.  Espaillat honored Cuomo at this breakfast.

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There were many smiles and laughs, captured here with Council Members Espinal, Ferreras and King, NYS Senators Espaillat and Peralta, NYS AG Schneiderman and NYC Comptroller Stringer.

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Our full photo gallery is here.

Cuomo Gaggles: The Peacemaker Edition



Governor Andrew Cuomo went from percussionist to peacemaker today, as he calmed press corps conflict during a chaotic start to the Dominican Day Parade.  The parade starting point was disorganized, becoming a bit chaotic as press and parade participants swirled around the designated parade start, waiting for the governor, mayor and other electeds but repeatedly ordered to move in different directions by the NYPD and parade organizers.  The press waited for the governor’s scheduled press Q&A, watching as the parade began and other electeds stepped off.  Cuomo then arrived and began walking past the waiting press and toward the parade.  As the governor noticed the press and stopped some pushing ensued, with the governor injecting a bit of calm.

Mayor de Blasio waited for the governor to conclude his press Q&A and depart before appearing for the parade.  He did not take any questions at the start of the parade.

Espaillat On de Blasio’s Absence



NYS Senator Adriano Espaillat hosted a pre-parade breakfast this morning featuring all city and statewide electeds, save one.  Governor Cuomo, NYS Comptroller TomDiNapoli, NYS AG Eric Schneiderman, NYC Public Advocate Tish James, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer and NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito were among the attendees, but Mayor Bill de Blasio did not attend.  Afterwards I asked Senator Espaillat whether he had invited Mayor de Blasio – here’s what he had to say.

Dominican Day Parade – Candidates Edition (Updated x 3)



Mayoral candidates flocked to today’s Dominican Day Parade.

To start our coverage, here’s a short clip from Anthony Weiner’s parade visit.  It’s important to note that Anthony Weiner wore his special red pants to the parade.  To set the scene, during a momentary break in the parade I put my camera down on a very short tripod, with this clip as the result.

Update #1 – Eliot Spitzer:

We spoke briefly with comptroller candidate Eliot Spitzer.  (We also looked for Scott Stringer.  A group of his supporters marched past, but he was not with them.)

Update #2 – Erick Salgado:

We spoke with mayoral candidate Erick Salgado about his exclusion from an upcoming mayoral candidate debate to be televised on WABC-TV.

Update #3 – Anthony Weiner:

Here’s a montage of Anthony Weiner marching running through the parade.