Busy political breakfast opens Staten Island St. Patrick’s Parade celebration on Forest Avenue
Originally published in
Staten Island Advance
on
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Everybody was Irish inside Jody’s Club Forest on Sunday morning during the annual Jerome X. O’Donovan Parade Breakfast ahead of the start of the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Parade.
Jody’s Club Forest in West Brighton has been holding the annual political breakfast — a nickname given for the de facto kickoff of the Island’s political season — the morning of the parade for newly three decades before being cancelled in 2023 due to the exclusion of LGBTQ+ groups from the annual celebration of Irish heritage.
Jody’s had a jubilant, packed-house vibe as city, state and borough politicians and office representatives were announced by president and CEO of the Staten Island Economic Development Corp. and former New York state Assemblyman Michael Cusick, who also organizes the breakfast. The attendees included Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Councilmembers Camilla Hanks (D-North Shore) and David Carr (R-Mid Island), Assemblymen Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn), Michael Reilly (R-South Shore), Sam Pirozzolo (R-Mid-Island) and Charles Fall (D-North Shore); Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and her predecessor Diane Savino.
