Third Annual Sunset Park Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrates the culture, avoids the controversy

June 12, 2017 By John Alexander Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Marchers hold a banner at the front of the Third Annual Sunset Park Puerto Rican Day Parade. Eagle photos by Arthur De Gaeta

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With all the controversy surrounding Manhattan’s Puerto Rican Parade, Brooklyn’s Sunset Park counterpart managed to avoid the conflict and instead focused on celebrating the rich Puerto Rican culture.

Manhattan’s National Puerto Rican Day Parade had initially chosen to honor Oscar Lopez Rivera, who was one of the leaders of Armed Forces of National Liberation (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional/FALN), an organization responsible for committing acts of violence against New York police officers and the fatal 1975 bombing of Fraunces Tavern in Lower Manhattan that killed four people and injured more than 50 others. Rivera’s 70-year sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama in January.

Although Rivera removed his name as honoree, he still opted to march in the parade alongside New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. Many elected officials from both sides of the aisle had bowed out of the parade, before Rivera himself withdrew. The Sunset Park parade offered an opportunity to honor the Puerto Rican heritage without any controversy.

Sunday’s third annual El Grito de Sunset Park Puerto Rican Parade and Festival started at 5 p.m. at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue and ended at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue. It was dedicated to and was in solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico. The unifying factor of the parade was the Puerto Rican people fighting for their civil rights while honoring their many accomplishments.

The parade served as a platform for the Puerto Rican community to celebrate their culture as spectators proudly waved a sea of Puerto Rican flags and cheered the passing marchers as they moved along the parade route.

Politicians attending the event included Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and District 51 Assemblymember Felix Ortiz. Also marching were 43rd District City Council candidate Liam McCabe; and Curtis Sliwa, an anti-crime activist and founder of the Guardian Angels.

McCabe marched along with National Latino Officers Association, who, along with McCabe, opted not to participate in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. They felt that the decision of the national parade committee to promote controversial figures and political messages distracted from the parade’s purpose.

That was certainly not the case with the El Grito de Sunset Park Puerto Rican Parade, which was well-attended, orderly and a genuine celebration of the Puerto Rican heritage.