De Blasio Leads Brooklyn Pride

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio was the grand marshal of yesterday's Brooklyn Pride parade, where he and his wife declared that they will never participate in events that exclude LGBT New Yorkers.

“When it comes to the question of parades, you will see Chirlane at this parade or me at this parade, but you will not see us at a parade that excludes members of the LGBT community,” he said. “That is not what we do in New York City.” In March, De Blasio boycotted the St. Patrick’s Day Parade — the first mayor to do so in 20 years — because organizers prohibited marchers from carrying signs identifying themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. De Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, led a group of city pols down Fifth Ave. in Park Slope as thousands of revelers waved rainbow flags and cheered wildly.