The marchers were filled with pride, but Orlando was in their hearts.
The 46th annual New York City Pride Parade was another out and proud celebration of gay rights and culture — but this time, signs of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history loomed everywhere.
The owner and manager of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, where 49 people were massacred two weeks ago by a terrorist, rode the lead float as armed NYPD officers provided heightened security and paradegoers and spectators waved “We Are Orlando” signs.
The emotion of the day even managed to bury the long-running feud between Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio, who walked along part of the route with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
“It’s a very historic day. New York City showing this whole country what it means to stand up for love,” de Blasio said, marching with his wife, Chirlane McCray, as well as the Rev. Al Sharpton and “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon.
Clinton, her Twitter handle a rainbow, remarked: “One year ago, love triumphed in our highest court. Yet LGBT Americans still face too many barriers. Let’s keep marching until they don’t.”
And there was the Orlando 49.
For years, Tigger-James Ferguson and his husband, Scott Parent, sported bride and groom costumes at the parade.
But on Sunday the couple organized a striking remembrance of the 49 victims of the nightclub massacre, conjuring their ghosts mere steps from the Stonewall Inn.
Among the floats of scantily clad dancers, extravagant costumes and rainbow flags were 49 people wearing all white, with veils covering their faces.
Around each of the marchers’ necks was a sign honoring a clubgoer gunned down by a hate-fueled madman.
“There’s been too much blood. Too many people have worn black,” Ferguson, 51, said. “We felt we needed to make space for grief.”
Many of the expected 2.5 million people along the parade route broke into applause at the chilling sight. Some shouted in support of the victims, letting out the anger many have felt since the slaughter.
“I tended to get teary every time people burst into applause because (the victims) should’ve been hearing that,” Ferguson said, tearing up again.
At the end of the parade route at Christopher and Greenwich Sts., a memorial featured photos of the Pulse victims.
“It’s devastating,” Olivia Johnston, 22, said quietly. “Timing is everything. To look at this and think of all the lost lives is heartbreaking.”
Cameron Bartell, 25, said participating in the parade felt more significant than ever — even eclipsing the march after the Supreme Court ruling recognizing gay marriage in 2013.
Bartell, who is from Orlando, said the first bar he’d ever visited was Pulse.
“This year feels heavier and has more weight to it and more of a need to do it,” he said. “It just feels much more important.”
The parade happened to come on the anniversary of the landmark decision in the case filed by 87-year-old Edith Windsor, who marched in the parade carrying a rainbow umbrella.
Many attendees said they’d had to overcome fear for their own safety to join the festivities.
Nancy Cordero, 49, and Julia Castro, 55, said they were more on-edge this year, their fourth Pride Parade.
“I feel a little bit worried … but as soon as I see a bunch of cops, I feel protected,” Cordero said.
Her girlfriend said attending was a way to honor the Pulse victims, who were at the club during Latin night.
She said she often seeks out Latin-themed celebrations when going out on the town.
“I wasn’t going to miss it. It could have been me,” Cordero said.
