Bayside St. Patrick's Day Parade Postponed Due To COVID-19 Spread

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — The Bayside St. Patrick's Day Parade will no longer be marching down Bell Boulevard on Saturday, March 28, due to a state ban on large gatherings that forced organizers to make a sudden change in plans.

The parade will be postponed rather than canceled altogether, organizers said Monday, but a new date hasn't yet been announced.

"An abundance of caution is always wiser in times of uncertainty," the Bayside St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee wrote in a Facebook post Monday, adding, "This is not the end, not nearly, just a speed bump."

Organizers had dedicated the 2020 parade to the late Phil Brady, who served as an aide for Bayside's 2019 parade and was "as ardent a supporter of all things Irish as could be found in Bayside," the parade committee wrote on Facebook.

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Efforts to slow the spread COVID-19, the official name for the disease caused by the new coronavirus, have dealt a blow to St. Patrick's Day festivities citywide.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week that the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade would be postponed due to concerns about the spread of new coronavirus. The New York City parade is one of the largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the world.

Since 2018, Bayside has supplemented the citywide celebration with its own St. Patrick's Day parade, in a nod to the neighborhood's sizable Irish community.

"Coronavirus took the wind out of our sails this parade season as we would celebrate Saint Patrick and our Irish heritage," the Bayside parade's founder, Kieran Mahoney, said in a statement to Patch. "I hope everyone is able to celebrate in their own way while mindful of social distancing."

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