30th Annual Queens Pride Parade draws hundreds for celebration
NEW YORK -- Hundreds of people lined the streets of Jackson Heights with rainbow flags Sunday to celebrate Pride Month at the 30th Annual Queens Pride Parade.
"It's an amazing day. We're all coming back together after two years, you know, since the pandemic," said David Kilmnick, president of the LGBT Network.
What organizers say is the biggest Pride event in Queens kicked off on 89th Street and 37th Avenue.
"We just want to show love," said Jeremiah Dormeus, who was marching with LaGuardia Community College. "It's important to show representation."
There was music, dancing and marching, along with appearances from Mayor Eric Adams and other officials.
"We have to stand together to make sure that the LGBT community and the transgender community know that we all stand in unison," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
The parade, started 30 years ago, honors Julio Rivera, a gay man who was attacked and killed in Jackson Heights in 1990. The street near where it happened has since been renamed for him. The parade route took participants to that location for a moment of silence in his honor.
"When we break that silence, we will say never ever again," one speaker said.
"We need to be just as strong, to make sure that not one more LGBT person is a victim of hate crime, not one more LGBT person feels afraid to come out, no matter where they live, learn, work, play and pray," Kilmnick said.
"As an educator, to be able to stand in front of my students and to say, 'You all are welcome. Everyone is welcome.' So important to represent that and also to march with them," said Jermaine Rowe, a theater professor at LaGuardia Community College.
"There are some kids home watching today who may not feel comfortable coming out," Kilmnick said. "Pride brings hope, Pride brings love, Pride brings community, and Pride brings a movement."
"Respect us because we're just people," one participant said.
"We love you and we will always stand by you," New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said.