NEW YORK (TIP): Organizers of the New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade said on Wednesday they will allow a gay group to march under its own banner in the 2015 procession, changing a decades-old policy that has come under criticism in recent years.

The group that will be allowed to walk under its own sign Out@NBCUniversal, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) support group associated with WNBCTV, the longtime broadcast partner of the nationally televised event, scheduled for next March 17. Controversy over the ban had led to lawsuits and boycotts.

Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio refused to march in this year’s parade. Two big sponsors, brewers Guinness and Heineken, yanked their sponsorship due to the ban. Gay groups have been allowed in the city’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parade provided they did not display banners, flags and pins that identified sexual orientation.

The NBC-affiliated group will be the only one allowed to hoist its banner in 2015 and others can apply to march in the 2016 event, said parade spokesman William O’Reilly in an email statement. The parade committee said the new policy was aimed at welcoming lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups while staying true to the teachings of the Catholic Church as the parade moves into its 253rd year.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, expressed support for the parade committee, saying he hopes “the parade would continue to be a source of unity for all of us.”