Bill de Blasio is first New York mayor to skip Puerto Rican Parade in 62 years

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is being slammed by his constituents after he decided to skip the Puerto Rican Day Parade to campaign in Iowa. 

The presidential hopeful is the first sitting mayor to skip the parade in its 62 years. 

Instead de Blasio will be in Iowa for the state Democratic party’s Hall of Fame dinner, which will be attended by 19 of the 23 major Democrats who are running for president.

Ruben Diaz Jr, the Borough President of the Bronx, slammed de Blasio’s decision. 

Instead de Blasio will be in Iowa for the state Democratic party’s Hall of Fame dinner. He is pictured here stumping in Iowa this weekend 

‘Being in Iowa instead of at the parade sends the message that he cares more about Iowa votes than Puerto Rican ones,’ Diaz told Pix 11. 

New York Rep Nydia Velazquez also called out the mayor for leaving his constituents behind. 

‘If I was part of his campaign staff, I would tell him, “You do the parade and then you go anywhere else you need to go,'” she said. 

De Blasio defended his decision while appearing on a public New York radio show on Friday. 

‘I’ve gone to the parade as mayor, as public advocate, as councilmember. I’ve gone many, many years, but when you’re running for president of the United States, this is always a challenge to try and balance the schedules,’ he said. 

The presidential hopeful is the first sitting mayor to skip the parade in its 62 years. De Blasio is pictured here at last year’s parade 

‘My respect, my commitment to the Puerto Rican community is very, very well-known in the community and it will continue deeply.’ 

‘Every presidential candidate is going to be there,’ he added. ‘It was important for me to be there too.’  

Louis Maldonado, the chairman of the parade, defended de Blasio this weekend. 

‘We don’t have bad feelings,’ he said. ‘We don’t feel slighted.’ 

This is the third major New York event in two weeks that locals say de Blasio has snubbed. 

De Blasio defended his decision by claiming every presidential candidate was going to be in Iowa and it was ‘important’ for him to be there. He is pictured here talking to Iowans 

The mayor first missed the opening of a new memorial for 9/11 first responders. 

De Blasio’s team later blamed his absence on his staff, who they claim never brought the event to his attention. 

‘The mayor’s team determined they could not make the event work with his schedule,’ a spokesman told CBS New York. ‘If he had known about the invitation, he would have attended.’ 

De Blasio also skipped out on last week’s D-Day ceremonies, angering veterans across America. 

This is the third major New York event in two weeks that locals say de Blasio has snubbed. De Blasio is pictured here stumping in Iowa 

Iowa’s Hall of Fame dinner gives residents their first chance to compare the dozens of Democratic candidates who currently have their eye on the White House. 

The state, per tradition, will hold the first caucus of the 2020 Democratic Primary.

Each candidate will get five minutes to give a speech in front of the 1,400 guests. Many have also planned rallies in the state around the event. 

Joe Biden, who is currently leading in polls among the Democratic candidates, is skipping the event for a family obligation but plans to campaign in Iowa this week.