Gays to march in new Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Staten Island will hold a separate St. Patrick’s Day parade welcoming LGBTQ groups this year, officials said Monday — following a long-running controversy over the official event’s anti-gay ban.

The inclusive march celebrating Irish heritage will be held on March 17, two weeks after the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade that for years has refused to allow LGBTQ groups to march under their own banners.

The introduction of the new parade was first reported by the Staten Island Advance/SILIVE.com, which advocated for the change.

Organizers’ rejection of LGBTQ groups from the traditional parade, which runs along Forest Avenue, has long been a polarizing sore point on the island.

Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon — the borough’s top-ranking elected official of Irish descent — has in recent years boycotted the event, as have many other local politicians, because it excludes LGBTQ marchers.

But McMahon was all “Erin go bragh” about marching in the gay-friendly parade, which is being sponsored by the Forest Avenue Business Improvement District and will also run along Forest Avenue.

“We join the overwhelming majority of our neighbors in expressing our relief at the news that an inclusive St. Patricks’ Day parade will finally be held on Staten Island, and we send our sincere thanks to the West Brighton [Forest Avenue] Business Improvement District for taking on this tremendous responsibility,” McMahon said in a joint statement with Michael Cusick, CEO of the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation and Staten Island Zoo CEO Ken Mitchell.

“We look forward to once again donning our green, sharing perhaps a pint of Guinness, and kicking off a St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Staten Island that will not exclude participants based on who they are or who they love,” the statement said.

“We should no longer have the only known parade in the world that excludes people,” it added.

A rep for Mayor Eric Adams, who is a former member of the Forest Avenue BID and who has previously boycotted the traditional parade for excluding LGBTQ groups, also said he was eager to march in the alternative event.

“From day one, Mayor Adams has been clear that celebrations in our city should be welcoming and inclusive,” a mayoral spokesperson said.

“That is why we are thrilled to be collaborating with the Staten Island Business Outreach Center for their first-ever St Patrick’s Day parade this year where everyone interested – regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or beliefs – will be welcome to march together.”

Organizers of the traditional Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade — set for March 3 — defended the ban, citing teachings of the Catholic Church.

The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade that runs along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan ended its ban of LGBTQ groups in 2014, leaving Staten Island with the only exclusionary parade.