The Gra-a-nd Parade

Sir: A number of your readers have brought to my attention the statement from “The Gra-a-nd Parade” [February, 1969], about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York, which reads: “A bill was proposed to the City Council by a member with the obviously un-Gaelic name of Woodward Kingman, asking that all parades be moved to a Sunday or a legal holiday.”

This is a serious misstatement of fact. I enclose a copy of my bill along with a copy of the existing ordinance, from which you can clearly see that my amendment would merely prohibit the holding of parades after 9:00 P.M. in residential areas or after 10:00 P.M. in congested areas. Furthermore, my bill would not alter the existing “Grandfather Clause” which (as pointed out in your article) excludes the St. Patrick’s Day Parade from any restrictions of the ordinance.

Besides being untrue, the above-mentioned statement in your article carries the unfortunate implication that I am anti-Irish. For anyone involved in politics in New York City (as I am), this is obviously very damaging. …