Thousands line 5th Ave for NYC's Columbus Day Parade

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of people are lining New York's Fifth Avenue to cheer the annual Columbus Day parade in the nation's largest city.

Marching bands, floats and politicians marched up the famous thoroughfare Monday.

The parade, beyond commemorating Columbus, has also become a celebration of New Yorkers of Italian heritage.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who are each of Italian descent, were warmly received along the route.

But the two men, who have been locked in a bitter political feud, did not interact during the festivities.

The crowds were enthusiastic on a mild fall day but the parade also annually elicits criticism.

Some people gathered near the parade to celebrate what they called Indigenous People Day out of protest of Columbus' treatment of Native Americans.