As Carl Paladino "reels from [his] gay gaffe" (as the Wall Street Journal describes this strange madness), Democratic candidate Andrew Cuomo got to trumpet his inclusive stance. During yesterday's Columbus Day parade, he said of Paladino's remarks criticizing gay marriage, homosexuality as a lifestyle, and the gay pride parade, "New York celebrates our diversity. Today we have parades to celebrate diversity, today we have the Columbus Day -- the Italian parade. We have the Gay Pride Parade. We have the Israel Day Parade. We celebrate our diversity. You're not going to make it a negative. Not going to play one off against the other. We won't let it happen in New York." more ›

Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino claims that he has no problems with gays—he just doesn't support gay marriage, want gays discussed amongst children and detests the gay pride parade. We reached out to the organizers of the annual Heritage of Pride March in NYC to respond to his comments. Among co-chair Ada Ospina's remarks, "Although we may not agree with views of Mr. Paladino, such statements highlight the importance of our Annual Pride events in combating the hatred and homophobia that is still present in our society. We welcome him to march with us, the LGBT community, our allies, and other political figures in the 2011 NYC Pride March on June 26th." more ›

After his remarks about homosexuality not being an "equally valid or successful option" (in the context of family values)—and then subsequent explanations that he doesn't discriminate against gays, he just hates same-sex marriage, and by the way, his nephew is gay—Paladino had to bring up one of his biggest peeves with the gay community. The darn gay pride parades! On the Today Show, he said of his rival, Andrew Cuomo, taking his daughters to this year's Gay Pride Parade in NYC, "I don't think it's proper for them to go there and watch a couple of grown men grind against each other. I don't think that's proper, I think it's disgusting." more ›

The Gay Pride parade kicked off at noon today, starting from 36th Street and 5th Avenue, and marching down to Christopher and Greenwich Streets. There will also be a number of events happening after the parade. PRIDEfest street fair will be taking place until 7 p.m. at Hudson Street between W 14th Street and Abingdon Square, and after the parade the Dance on the Pier party at Pier 54 will be going through a fireworks show at 10:30 p.m. If you're there, send us photos at tips@gothamist.com, or tag them "gothamist" on Flickr. more ›

The wickets of West 9th Street may just be saved after all! After budget cuts led to shorter routes for parades, the Gay Pride Parade had to reroute this year's march down West 9th Street, a residential block that the likes of Uma Thurman and Barbara Bush (for now) call home. Locals were outraged, claiming the crowds would ruin their wickets and trees. And well below wicket-laded street, there are allegedly hollow vaults that used to store the city's coal—another worry was that the sidewalks weren't strong enough to withstand the crowds. more ›

The Gay Pride Parade will march on this year, just like every other year—except on June 27th the participants will not turn down 8th Street, which is filled with businesses, as it has in the past. Instead, it will turn down the residential 9th Street, where it will be met by angry residents and their wickets! The West 9th Street Block Association is angry, and here's why: more ›

A cross-dressing teen from Cape May, NJ was told by his principal that wearing a dress to his prom would "violate the school's dress code." Derrek Lutz had previously told WCBS, "What makes me a woman is inside and it doesn't really matter what's on the outside. And everyone should really just be treated equally," and planned to be at prom no matter what. And after being backed by over 600 signatures on a petition started by his friends, Lutz was able to attend in a dress with a female date, and was even crowned Prom King! more ›

Constance McMillen, the Mississippi teen banished from her school's prom for wanting to bring a girl (she's been out as a lesbian her entire high school career), has garnered national attention for Itawamba Agricultural High School. The school was sued by the ACLU and they canceled the prom... or so everyone thought. She was actually sent to a decoy prom attended by 7 other people, while the rest of her senior class had a real prom at a secret location. Now NYC is welcoming the teen with open arms: she's been named the grand marshal of the Gay Pride Parade this year! more ›

It was a beautiful day for a parade, and participants and spectators of the Gay Pride March made the most of it. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to see the colorful procession of marchers, floats, musicians, and performers. One spectator told NY1, "I'm hoping that in my time, I get to see them legalize gay marriage." more ›

Get ready an explosion of color and pride and with today's annual NYC LGBT Gay Pride Parade. The parade-march starts at noon, at Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street; the parade makes its way down Fifth, swings right onto West 8th Street and ends on Christopher Street, with grand marshals Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, Harvey Milk's campaign workers and LGBT activists Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg, and Governor David Paterson. Besides the parade, there's the Pridefest on Hudson St. between Abingdon Sq. & West 14th St. (between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.) and Pier Dance at Pier 54 (Hudson River & 13th Street; tickets are $70). Overall, expect lots of revelry in the West Village, even if they're not on the fire escapes this year! If you're headed to the parade, you can share your photos with us by tagging them "gothamist" on Flickr or emailing them to tips(at)gothamist(dot)com . more ›

This Sunday is the annual LGBT Gay Pride March, which starts on Fifth Avenue at 52nd Street and then makes its way down Fifth, swings right onto West 8th Street and ends on Christopher Street. Reader Sacha Lecca let us know that on Wednesday night, signs were posted on all the apartment buildings on Christopher Street. The NYPD "recommended that viewing of this weekend's Heritage of Pride Parade not be done from fire escapes," due to safety—given concern over the structural integrity of the fire escapes and the possible harm to not only people on them but people below. more ›

Even a downpour couldn't stop the Gay Pride March down Fifth Avenue yesterday, which attracted half a million participants and an estimated million spectators. Besides the costumed performers, motorcyclists, bands and floats, elected officials were part of the parade. Along with Mayor Bloomberg and Senator Schumer, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Governor David Paterson marched and spoke out on behalf of gay rights. more ›

This Sunday marks the annual Gay Pride Parade. The march will run from 5th Avenue & 52nd St. to Christopher & Greenwich St. beginning at noon -- so either join in on the fun, or adjust your driving and walking routes lest you incur some delays (NYC DoT has some tips). This year should be especially celebratory given that same-sex marriage is now legal in California! more ›

Last month, New York City kicked off a big global advertising campaign to attract more tourists to the Big Apple. The ads appear in a number of venues, and the Post notes that media space has been bought in Out magazine and on the LOGO network, as well as LGBT websites. A Bloomberg administration official explains that gay and lesbians have more disposable income, as they are usually dual-income without kids, "What we're saying... more ›

Of all the days and in all the neighborhoods for this to happen: On Sunday, the Daily News reports that Khadijah Farmer, a "masculine lesbian," was kicked out of the women's bathroom at the Caliente Cab Co. on Seventh Avenue in the West Village. And this happened to be a few hours after the Gay Pride Parade! more ›

Yesterday was the 38th Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride March, and thousands of people participated - from shimmying and showing off their outrageous costumes to waving gay pride flags and hollering their support. The grand marshals of the parade were religious leaders Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum and Reverend Dr. Troy Perry; Kleinbaum said, "We stand for a progressive religious voice. Those who use religion to advocate an anti-gay agenda I believe are blaspheming God’s name.” more ›

THEATER: HERE Artistic Director Kristin Marting concludes the OBIE-winning art center’s season by directing performer/dancer Alexandra Beller in us, “a highly athletic, sensual and dynamic blend of movement with song, text and a layered soundscape. Beller created this deeply personal commentary on the state of the union from the perspective of a woman who is at a crisis point in a love relationship.” As we haven’t seen it, we’ll defer to The New Yorker on this one: “The former Bill T. Jones standout dresses herself in the American flag, uses it as a jump rope, breast-feeds it. A sound score assaults her with conservative rhetoric, circa 2004, and she enlists the audience in pointing out contradictions in Leviticus.” Just another reason why we love New York. ENDS SUNDAY! – John Del Signore more ›

The State Assembly voted in favor of allowing same-sex marriages in New York. Newsday said it was the first time a gay marriage bill was "debated publicly in one of the houses of the State Legislature Tuesday." However, the bill is not expected to make it pass the Republican-controlled Senate. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said, "We're not doing gay marriage by [tomorrow's adjournment], that's for sure." more ›

The NY Times doled out two big endorsements for the upcoming Democratic primaries this weekend: One for Attorney General and the other for Governor. And Mark Green, the former city Public Advocate, gets the nod, even though the editoral starts out, "If there are excellent Democratic candidates for governor this year, the race to succeed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is a lot more contentious and a lot less promising." Green's "prickly personality" is noted, as is "when elected, he has always repaid voters by doing the job well." While Andrew Cuomo's mixed record at HUD is cited as enough to make being AG questionable. more ›

The NY State Court of Appeals ruled that gay marriage is not allowed. The Court of Appeals heard a NYC case in which Judge Doris Ling-Cohan ruled that gay marriage was allowed. The city appealed, and the case made it way up to the highest court in the state. Here's the ruling (PDF) and here's some of what it says:

We hold that the New York Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex. Whether such marriages should be recognized is a question to be addressed by the Legislature. more ›

- And speaking of horrible accidents, a man was thrown from his car on the Henry Hudson - and then a car drove over him; police suspect his wife was speeding, causing the accident that threw him out more ›

Thousands of people (WNBC says 500,000!) lined Fifth Avenue and Greenwich Village streets to enjoy this year's Gay Pride Parade, in spite of a bit of rain. In fact, one performer on the "Carnival in Rio" float told the NY Times, "Today is our day. The rain won't stop us. Mother Nature is a drag queen." One of the stars of the parade was Kevin Aviance, the drag queen who was brutally beaten by some teens in the East Village. A parade parade spectator deemed Aviance, who was wearing red high heels, silver shorts, a white jacket, and sparkly silver top hat, "fabulous." more ›

Many politicians will be marching in the Gay Pride Parade, as it's a big election year, and, like many constituencies with issues at stake, the gay community generally heads to the polls to support their candidates. Which makes Republican Senate hopeful Kathleen T. McFarland's new disclosure about her family fascinating. The NY Times reports that McFarland's advisers told to her reveal that her childhood home was "physically abusive" and why she became estranged with her gay brother (it was over "objections to his lifestyle"). McFarland went public with the information because two letters she wrote to her parents about the abuse "have found their way into the hands of a magazine reporter." The actual statement doesn't directly refer to her brother being gay in the statement, but the Times article explains McFarland didn't attend her HIV-positive brother's funeral "out of concern about a confrontation with her parents." more ›

The Gay Pride Parade started at noon at Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, but don't worry, you'll be able to check it out as it winds its way down Fifth, making a right when it right 8th Street and then heads towards Christopher Street, and will take a few hours. And there will be lots of celebrating along the way and afterwards, what with Pridefest and the Dance on the Pier. The parade's co-Grand Marshals are Florent Morellet and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg weighed in on this weekend's savage gay-bashing outside East Village gay bar Phoenix, saying, "Anybody that thinks they can get away with a hate crime is sadly mistaken. It was a disgrace." Well-known performer and drag queen Kevin Aviance is being released from the hospital today after surgery to his jaw. He hopes to recover in time to perform at the Gay Pride Parade on June 25. Aviance was wearing a black sleeveless hoodie, black shorts and boots when he walked down East 13th Street; Clarence Patton, of the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, summed up the fears about the attack to the NY Times, "People will say: Here it is. Kevin Aviance in the East Village in boy's clothes, in a place that's supposed to be ours, getting beat up." The attack occured around 1AM on Saturday night, which is not that late for the East Village - do you feel that the neighborhood is safe or unsafe then? more ›

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Much to the delight of gay and straight New Yorkers, yesterday's steamy weather meant that there was more reason for marchers in the Gay Pride Parade to go shirtless. If you were downtown, everywhere people would turn there was bound to be a fairly naked, glistening body. New Yorkers enjoyed themselves, and some noted how the parade has become "mainstreamed." The parade was started as to mark the Stonewall uprising in 1969, and some who marched in the first pride parade 36 years ago marched again yesterday. more ›

Sue Sena, S.W.i.S.H. Founder more ›