COURIER LIFE, JULY 9-15, 2021 11
14 floats and rained from high rising
buildings and down onto about
260 varying workers who drove and
marched through the Canyon of Heroes,
stretching along Broadway
from Battery Park to City Hall.
“Let’s thank our health care heroes!
You guys are amazing! Thank
you to the nurses, thank you to the
doctors, thank you to the technicians
— everybody who made the
hospitals work during the crisis,
you are our heroes. Thank you,” de
Blasio said as Mount Sinai and other
hospital workers marched past a
stage with a sign reading, “No stopping
New York.”
The echoing sound of drums, bag
pipes, horns, and musical performances
by more than 10 bands resounded
through the streets as essential
workers marched through
Broadway to the delight of thousands
of spectators.
Members of various union groups
such as 32BJ, 1199, NYSNA, as well
as mascots Mr. and Mrs. Met threw
their hands in the air and shouted
for joy as they showed their pride
for their heroes. Additionally, staff
members from local medical facilities
such as St. John’s Episcopal
Hospital — the only hospital located
on the Rockaway, Queens peninsula
aiding well over 130,000 residents
that was one of the first hospitals
in Queens County to receive a
COVID-19 patient.
“All right everybody, one big
round of applause for our hometown
heroes,” de Blasio said, adding, “Everybody,
we love our hometown heroes!”
Due to the sweltering 91-degree
heat, the mayor modified the event’s
schedule, forgoing the celebratory
ceremony at City Hall Plaza. However,
that did not stop hundreds
upon hundreds from braving the
heat to say thank you.
AMY SULLIVAN,
an 18 year veteran ER nurse
at Wyckoff Hospital.
Wyckoff Hospital
salutes all of our
healthcare workers.
We appreciate
all that you do.
Every day.