Velazquez Condemns Daily News Coverage of Puerto Rican Day Parade

Washington, DC –Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) today released the following statement regarding a photograph that ran in the New York Daily News’ coverage of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, which showed exposed women with the headline “Rear View on Parade”:

“The New York Daily News owes a sincere apology to New York’s Puerto Rican community for this offensive coverage, which misrepresented and mischaracterized the parade.

“This year’s event was among the most substantive in recent memory with a focus on meaningful issues like Medicare cuts in Puerto Rico, the need to free Oscar Lopez and strategies to remediate the Superfund site El Caño Martín Peña. Rather than cover these important matters, the Daily News chose to instead dredge up salacious photographs of individuals who were not even on the parade route.

“The Puerto Rico Day Parade is a unique celebration of the history and contributions of the 720,000 Puerto Ricans living in New York City and the five million Puerto Ricans residing throughout the United States. Rather than joining all of us in celebrating our rich heritage, the Daily News chose a cheap, vulgar approach that was inappropriate and offensive. It should apologize to our community and to all of its readers.”

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