A crowd gathers for a parade in New York City | Getty Images
NEW YORK — New York City will throw a ticker tape parade for health care workers and first responders along Broadway’s Canyon of Heroes as its first major public event when the coronavirus crisis has passed, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.
“This parade will mark the beginning of our renaissance,” de Blasio said. “We will honor those who saved us.”
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Though the date will be months down the road, the parade will mark the city’s rebirth from a disease that has already killed more than 13,600 New Yorkers, the mayor said. It will come after the city’s lockdown has lifted and normal urban life is ready to resume.
“The day is coming when we will overcome this disease,” de Blasio told reporters at a press briefing.
“The day is coming when I’m going to be able to tell you we can gather again. The day is coming when I’m going to be able to tell you in fact we will be having the concerts and the street fairs and the parades again,” he said. “When that day comes that we can restart the vibrant, beautiful life of the city again, the first thing we will do is we will have a ticker tape parade on the Canyon of Heroes for our health care workers and our first responders.”
Doctors and nurses are set to be honored on a stretch of Broadway in Lower Manhattan that has hosted more than 200 parades since the 19th century. Honorees, most recently the soccer World Cup-winning U.S. Women’s National Team last year, are showered with confetti.
“Many, many great heroes have gone down that canyon,” de Blasio said. “But I think this will be the greatest of all the parades, because this one will speak to the rebirth of New York City.”
The city’s public events have been canceled through at least June, and its Broadway theaters, restaurants and famed museums remain shuttered for the foreseeable future.
The latest cancellations mean annual celebrations including the Pride march, the Puerto Rican Day Parade and the Mermaid Parade will not take place. Some event organizers hope to reschedule their events for a time after the lockdown lifts.
It is likely the 4th of July fireworks will be canceled as well, de Blasio said Tuesday, though no final decision has been made. He said it was “hard to see” the annual display which draws throngs of onlookers happening this year.
NYC plans ticker tape parade to honor health care workers — date unknown
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