
COURIER L 24 IFE, MAY 14-20, 2021
Mayor’s offi ce brings
live performances to
vaccination sites
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A handful of the city’s vaccination
sites will play host to special performances
for those looking to get the jab
— and those distributing it!
The Mayor’s Offi ce of Media and
Entertainment and AFM Local 802
have launched “Music Heals,” a new
program where musicians are paid to
play for vaccine recipients and healthcare
workers. The program follows in
the footsteps of the Music for the Soul
of NYC’s Health + Hospitals Heroes, a
series launched by NYC Health + Hospitals,
MOME and Local 802 AFM in
spring 2020, in which local musicians
performed virtually to support the
city’s public hospitals.
“Understanding the value that art
and music can have on healing, it’s
only fi tting that we now bring live
performances to our COVID-19 vaccination
sites across the City, all the
while thanking the healthcare heroes
who have played a vital role in our recovery,”
said Deputy Mayor Melanie
Hartzog. “More and more New Yorkers
will be able to enjoy these live performances
in their more traditional
setting in no time as more people roll
up their sleeve for a vaccination.”
The Music Heals performances will
take place at 11 different city-run vaccination
sites across the fi ve boroughs
through June 20. Each performance
will be one hour long and is meant to
thank the staff and those who are being
treated at the vaccine sites while
reminding New Yorkers about the music,
theatre and live performances that
help defi ne the city’s culture.
The program also aims to give musicians
fair wages and benefi ts under
union guidelines as many participating
musicians have lost out on income
due to the pandemic.
“Music Heals supports local musicians,
and lets every New Yorker working
at a vaccination site know how
much we appreciate them,” said the
commissioner of the Mayor’s Offi ce of
Media and Entertainment, Anne del
Castillo. “In many ways, this is a celebration
of New Yorkers doing their
part to ensure a strong reopening,
while reminding us of the creativity
and culture that is so core to the city’s
identity.”