Continue reading "Hochul Got the Only Performance Review That Matters — And She Failed It on Fifth Avenue""/>
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Breaking News

Hochul Got the Only Performance Review That Matters — And She Failed It on Fifth Avenue

The 82nd Annual Columbus Day Parade rolled down Fifth Avenue on October 12, and Governor Kathy Hochul showed up expecting the usual political grip-and-grin. What she got instead was a wall of boos so loud you could hear them over the marching bands, punctuated by chants of "You're a disgrace!" and at least one voice shouting "You're going to jail."

Hochul kept walking. The crowd kept booing.

The governor marched the parade route flanked by aides who looked considerably less comfortable than she did. Hochul smiled through the whole thing — the kind of frozen smile politicians develop when they realize the room has turned but the cameras are still rolling. New York Attorney General Letitia James was also present, though the crowd's primary target was unmistakable.

The reception might have stung less if Hochul hadn't posted on social media afterward as though it never happened. "Italian Americans helped build New York, and their rich culture and traditions continue to shape the Empire State," she wrote. "Honored to celebrate with the community on Fifth Avenue today!" The community had just spent an hour telling her what they thought of her governance. Honored is one word for it.

U.S. Representative Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican whose district includes Dyker Heights, noticed something else about Hochul's post. The governor managed to praise Italian Americans without ever saying the words "Happy Columbus Day." Malliotakis fired back on X: "Why can't you say Happy Columbus Day?? You are governor of the state with the largest Italian population in America. Pathetic!"

She followed up: "Hochul & Mamdani are pathetic!! New York has the largest Italian population in America and we have a Governor and a Mayor who can't say 'Happy Columbus Day!' As the Italians say… DISGRAZIA!"

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani didn't bother showing up to the Columbus Day Parade at all. He was busy posting about "Indigenous Peoples' Day" instead: "Kuwiinguneewul! Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day to the Indigenous New Yorkers who continue to shape our city, sustain ancestral traditions, and carry forward generations of resilience." This is the same mayor who skipped the installation of Archbishop Ronald Hicks back in February. A pattern emerges when you lay out which events he attends and which ones he can't find on his calendar.

Mamdani's absence and Hochul's reception tell the same story from two different angles. One politician calculated that Columbus Day wasn't worth his time. The other calculated that she could power through the hostility and post about it afterward like everything was fine. Both calculations assumed their voters either wouldn't notice or wouldn't care.

The crowd on Fifth Avenue — the people who actually live in New York, pay taxes in New York, and raise families in New York — had a different calculation. They showed up on a national holiday to honor Christopher Columbus and the Italian-American heritage that built half the city's infrastructure. They didn't need a politician's permission to celebrate it, and they certainly weren't going to pretend the governor who pushed assisted suicide legislation, expanded abortion access, and forced religious sisters to accept biological males at women's facilities was welcome at their parade.

Politicians spend most of their time in buildings where everyone claps when they walk in. Staff meetings. Fundraisers. Press conferences stacked with friendly reporters. The Columbus Day Parade on Fifth Avenue is not a staff meeting. It's a street full of constituents with no handler controlling the guest list.

Hochul posted "honored to celebrate." The celebration posted back.

Like this Article? Share it!


Most Popular

Most Popular

Comments are closed.