It’s one of the biggest days on Staten Island: the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

It’s a day when Forest Avenue fills with the sounds of bagpipes, marching bands and cheers from hundreds of New Yorkers.

But every year it goes on without the Pride Center of Staten Island, an organization that advocates and offers services to support the LGBTQ members of the borough.

“I can go to Dublin and march. Every year I’m invited into Queens and Manhattan and I march there. I can march in Boston if I want. I cannot march in Staten Island,” said Carol Bullock, the pride center’s executive director.

Bullock says the parade committee has denied the organization’s application to march behind their banner each year since 2011.

She says the committee rules state they do not allow any sexual identification or political agendas to be promoted.

“I was with two of the parade committee individuals and one of them looked at me and said, ‘You run a homosexual organization. You’re denied.’ And I went, ‘What does that even mean? Homosexual organization?’ And he just went ‘denied,’ opened the door and told me to get out at that point,” Bullock said.

Terence Haggerty owns Jody’s Club Forest, an Irish pub and restaurant, and says the controversy has not only ruined the spirit of the day but has started to cut into his bottom line.

Each year the restaurant holds a breakfast for elected officials and leaders on the island, but this year that breakfast has been canceled in solidarity with the pride center.

“Business wise, it stinks. You know, you had COVID, you lost. We lost what we lost when we were trying to get back on our feet as much as we could. And then we lose that,” Haggerty said. “And more than business, it’s the tradition of it.”

Bullock says the LGBTQ community remains resilient and because of that she will keep being loud in hopes that one day the pride center will march.

“It’s sad because it’s not the Staten Island I know and love,” she said.

The parade begins Sunday at noon.

It’s organized by the Parade Committee of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, under President Larry Cummings.

In the past, a Change.org petition was created to remove Cummings. He and the committee could not be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for the mayor said “the mayor will not participate in the parade as long as those discriminatory practices continue.”

Although the New York State Ancient Order of Hibernians is not directly linked with all St. Patrick’s Day parades, NY1 did reach out to them for comment but have not heard back.