tMayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito came together Wednesday to celebrate Puerto Rican heritage amid some friction over the upcoming Puerto Rican Day parade and the city budget. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.

There were no fireworks from the podium, despite some public clashes between City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Mayor Bill de Blasio in recent days.

"For four years, I've had the wonderful opportunity to partner with Melissa Mark-Viverito on the work of this city," de Blasio said.

But behind the scenes, the relationship between the pair is strained at best. They have been at odds over the Puerto Rican Day Parade committee's decision to honor Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera, the one-time leader of a violent group behind more than 100 bombings across the U.S., including one that killed four people in Lower Manhattan in 1975.

"Oscar, the award continues to be given to him, but he decided to bestow it on the people. So I think that that's an incredible gesture," the Council speaker said. 

The speaker and the mayor have also sparred over the budget, with the speaker appearing to blindside the mayor with a last-minute maneuver this week meant to insure that immigrants facing deportation, even those convicted of serious crimes, get access to city-funded lawyers. 

"Well, look. We can have disagreements, right? We work, the work goes on, and we are here to celebrate my heritage, my culture. I am glad that we are able to do this jointly," the Council speaker said. 

The mayor did not acknowledge the parade controversy or the budget issues from the stage. But earlier this week, he said he working behind the scenes, even threatening to boycott the parade himself, to ensure Lopez Rivera was not officially honored Sunday. ​

Lopez Rivera's role as an honoree is still a bit unclear. Lorraine Cortez Vazquez senior adviser to de Blasio who is the chairwoman of the Puerto Rican Day parade suggested Lopez Rivera was still being honored. He was just choosing to pass the honor along.

"We have not rescinded anything because Oscar gave it back," she said.

She did say Lopez Rivera would not be marching at the front of the parade on Sunday.