A ticker-tape parade will come to the Canyon of Heroes on July 7 to honor New York’s frontline workers who kept the city going during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.
“The first true large parade in New York City will be one to celebrate the heroes of the fight against COVID,” said de Blasio at his June 14 press briefing. “The people who kept us alive, the people who kept this city going no matter what — we are going to hold a parade to honor them, to thank them, to celebrate them.”
The Hometown Heroes Parade will have floats along Broadway in Lower Manhattan for different groups, including healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers, such as grocery and bodega workers, educators, municipal workers, transportation workers, and delivery people.
“[It will be] a parade you will remember for the rest of your life to celebrate people who we need to keep in our hearts. True New York City heroes who did something for the ages,” Hizzoner said. “I look forward, really look forward to being part of that moment and thanking all of our heroes who saw us through.”
De Blasio promised a parade for healthcare workers back in April 2020 — the worst month of the pandemic in the Big Apple — and said that next month will be the right time for the blowout, as most COVID restrictions are likely to be lifted by then.
“I said many weeks ago, July 1st was when we were convinced we could come back fully,” the mayor said. “If we get past July 1st of course, we’re going to have an amazing July 4th, and July 4th we celebrate our country and celebrate our cities, come back and then a parade for the ages up the Canyon of Heroes. So, I think it’s exactly the right time for it.”
