Coney Island's Mermaid Parade Canceled Again As Delta Variant Fuels COVID Uptick
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A classic New York tradition is once again being canceled due to the COVID pandemic.
Organizers have again called off the annual Mermaid Parade on Coney Island.
Last year, organizers switched from an in-person parade to a virtual event due to the pandemic.
They had hoped the tradition would return this year, and delayed the parade from its usual June date to September, in the hope that progress in fighting the pandemic would allow it to go forward.
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"When we set the September date, we hoped that the parade, the largest art parade in the nation and a point of civic pride for Coney Island, would represent a return to normalcy. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is not finished with us quite yet," organizers wrote in their announcement Wednesday.
Organizers say the event draws hundreds of thousands of people to Coney Island, and "the risks to our sponsors, patrons, community, and our wonderful staff—who have risen to every challenge—were too much to bear."
Organizers say the parade will return in 2022 "better than ever," and urge New Yorkers to get vaccinated.