Brooklyn's Columbus Day Parade marched its way through Bensonhurst on Saturday. The annual event has been a tradition for more than 40 years. Italian flags were waved proudly, both from behind barricades and out of sports cars. Hundreds marched up 18th Avenue, or Cristoforo Colombo Boulevard, to Il Centro Community Center, the city's first Italian-American cultural center.

Columbus Day celebrates Christopher Columbus, born in Italy and known to discover what was considered "the New World," modern-day North and South America. The federal holiday has faced controversy over claims that indigenous people were exploited and abused by Columbus, so its name has been changed to Indigenous Peoples Day in some states. In New York, it's still considered Columbus Day.