Fact Check: Is Macy’s cancelling 2025 Thanksgiving parade because of Zohran Mamdani?
NEWYORK CITY, NEWYORK: A Viral social media post claimed on November 11, 2025, that Macy's was canceling its Thanksgiving parade in New York City in 2025 because Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani wanted to charge the department store $10 billion to use Fifth Avenue.
But how much of this claim holds? Let’s find out.
Claim: Macy's canceled its 2025 Thanksgiving parade in NYC because of Mamdani
After Mayor-elect Mamdani won, the following rumor began circulating online most notably through the Facebook page 'America's Last Line of Defense' that the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was canceled.
That was supposedly because Mamdani "wanted to charge the department store $10 million to use Fifth Avenue."
ALLOD shared a meme featuring a quote attributed to Macy's CEO Joseph A. Barron (archived), which started with: "New Yorkers are regretting their votes after Macy's announces the end of 125 years of Thanksgiving tradition. Mayor-Elect Mamdani wants us to pay $10 million to rent 5th Avenue for three hours," adding, "We'd have to charge admission."
The post caption further explained the CEO was "completely blindsided" by the proposal, which ALLOD characterized as a "plan to turn the annual Thanksgiving Parade into a fundraiser for Mamdani's socialist projects."
The pinned comment under the post said Barron's spokesman also happened to be Joe Barrow which further confused the issue.
It said, “We sent our best reporter to check on this, patriots. What we found out was disturbing. It seems that Mamdani's demand for rent for 5th Avenue is not only unreasonable, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.”
It further added, “The parade comes down 6th, said Joe Barron's Spokesman, who also happens to be Joe Barron, So is this just like...some kind of kickback? Like 'Hey...yo...give us a duffle bag full of cash for 5th and we won't break your legs' kind of thing?"
ALLOD also spread a similar version of this claim through a Facebook Reel, which had amassed more than 15,000 likes.
Fact Check: False! ALLOD is a satirical page
The rumor originated with ALLOD, which describes its output as satirical. Its Facebook Intro featured a disclaimer reading: "The flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery and propaganda for cash. Nothing on this page is real." Its meme also contained a "satire" label in the bottom right corner.
ALLOD has a history of making up stories for shares and comments. Beyond Macy's website confirming the event was still scheduled, several other indicators pointed to the story being fabricated.
For instance, Mamdani will not be assuming the office of mayor until Jan. 1, 2026, meaning he could not possibly have the authority to charge Macy's $10 million for the use of Fifth Avenue for the 2025 Thanksgiving parade. Lastly, Macy's CEO is Tony Spring, not Joseph A Barron as claimed in the meme.
Macy’s Thanksgiving parade route in New York City explained
According to the website, the route for the parade is set to start on Central Park West at 77th Street, by the American Museum of Natural History.
It follows Central Park West to Columbus Circle, then it goes east on Central Park South and turns right on Sixth Avenue, also known as Avenue of the Americas and is set to conclude on 34th Street which is outside the Macy's department store.
