McLean Avenue hosts rousing Yonkers St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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For years, families in the tight-knit McLean Avenue community in Yonkers have enjoyed honoring St. Patrick with a parade of their own, but this year they joined forces with South Broadway to stage their largest parade ever.


On a bright and sunny March 22, with Rev. Thomas Collins, President of Archbishop Stepinac High School, as Grand Marshall, dozens of marching bands from area high schools, colleges and fraternal organizations, boy scouts and girl scouts, police and firefighters marched down McLean Avenue.


And Deirdre O’Mara brought her Irish step dancing students to perform for the crowd.
More than 100 local businesses, all members of the McLean Avenue Merchants Association (MAMA), welcomed the event.


R.J. Puma, the chairman of the association, was thrilled his community was hosting the expanded parade. His Italian bakery always gets in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, he said, making 700 to 800 loaves of Irish soda bread every year for the holiday.
Realtor Henry Djonbalaj was delighted with the parade, “It’s great for the community,” he said, “we have the most supportive people.”

Article corrected March 27, 2014. A previous post credited MAMA with organizing the parade. They were not the parade organizers.

Yonkers, St. Patrick's Day, parade, McLean Avenue,

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