When Coney Island USA, the organizer of the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, sounded the alarm in April that one of New York’s most iconic and beloved summer traditions was on the brink of cancellation due to an “urgent financial crisis,” the community received an overwhelming response from the public, with support pouring in from Brooklyn, New York City, and even internationally.
After a GoFundMe initiative raised over $42,000, the organization received another financial boost from Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso on Wednesday.
At a press conference outside Coney Island USA headquarters on May 20 — a month to the day before the Mermaid Parade — the Brooklyn Beep made good on his the promise he made in his 2026 State of the Borough Address in April, and allocated $20,000 from his discretionary fund to Coney Island USA.
Reynoso said he expected this year’s Mermaid Parade to be the grandest and biggest parade ever.Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Reynoso, who is also running for Congress in NY-7, said arts institutions and cultural landmarks, have to be preserved. Reynoso also announced that his office would fund the parade with $20,000 every single year as long as he is borough president.
“We want everyone to know that this is not the end. The funding is helping us save the Mermaid Parade, but we want it to be the grandest and biggest parade it could possibly be. So, we want to keep it coming,” Reynoso said. “I couldn’t be prouder, I couldn’t be happier to be the borough president that helped save this year’s Mermaid Parade, and I just want to say that the funding we’re doing today, so long as I’m the Borough President, I will continue to give this funding to Coney Island USA for future Mermaid Parade, so long as I’m in office.”
Adam Rinn, artistic director of Coney Island USA, said the nonprofit had gone through some rough financial “patches” in the past few years and expressed his gratitude for the public support.
The campaign to save the parade also garnered the attention of New York Comic Con, which signed up as the parade’s presenting sponsor, and announced that the convention’s 20th anniversary theme this year will be Coney Island.
Adam Rinn said Coney Island USA owed a huge debt of gratitude to the supporters of the Mermaid Parade. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
“When Borough President Reynoso heard that there was a possibility that the 44th Mermaid Parade might not happen, he jumped into action faster than the Coney Island Polar Bear Club runs into the icy waters each week,” Rinn said. “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who has supported us via the GoFundMe, to Comic Con and our other sponsors, but especially to the Borough President for understanding the importance of the Mermaid Parade and supporting it.”
Rinn said Coney Island USA owed a huge debt of gratitude to the supporters of the Mermaid Parade.
Drag Queen Nancy Nogood and Queerly Femmetastic, the reigning Miss Coney Island,, told Brooklyn Paper they were excited to see how many people, including Reynoso, showed their support to ensure that the tradition of creative self-expression continues.
Nogood has lived in New York City for more than a decade and has been a Coney Island resident for the past five years. To have the Borough President recognize the importance of the parade was “incredible,” she said.
Nancy Nogood said the outpouring of support had been incredible. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
“It’s the first time this city has truly felt home to me, and being a part of the Mermaid Parade is just an extension of that. So, for our own borough president to recognize how important this is, not just to us specifically in Coney, but to the entire city and to the entire borough, and wants to see that live on in perpetuity, it really leaves me speechless,” Nogood said, noting that while she has a vision for her Mermaid Parade costume, she’s still putting on the finishing touches.
“I definitely have some pieces put together. I feel like it’s every year I want to try to outdo myself, just a little bit more. And so, yeah, I’ve got a vision. We’ll see what I can realize,” Nogood said.
Queerly Femmetastic has attended the parade since she was a kid, and said she was “heartbroken” when she learned that Coney Island USA might not be able to continue the tradition that has delighted generations of New Yorkers.
Querly Femmetastic, Miss Coney Island 2026, was relieved that the parade was back on track. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
“I was just genuinely excited and relieved when I found out, like, okay, there’s going to be dedicated funding, and we don’t have to scale anything down or make any like massive changes, and the thing that brings so many people joy can continue to happen,” Queerly Femmetastic said, noting that due to the increased media attention she expected a high turnout of parade revelers.
“I’m so excited to hear people say, ‘I was planning on coming to New York that weekend, but now I know that the parade is then, so I’ll plan to come to that too,’” the self-proclaimed cosplay nerd said.
She attends Comic Con every year and was looking forward to presenting Coney Island at the convention in October.
“I go to Comic Con every year, and so knowing that I get to do the two things that I really love, which are cosplay and being Miss Coney Island, I’m super excited,” Queerly Femmetastic said. “I have tons and tons and tons of mermaid costumes and ringmaster costumes and lion cuts, so I have everything at home, so I, for once, am not going to have to do any con crunch. I’m going to show up and be magical and fabulous.”
The Mermaid Parade is scheduled for June 20, rain or shine.