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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, AUGUST 9, 2020
Showing the love
BY JESSICA PARKS
Southern Brooklynites showed
their appreciation for the city’s essential
workers by participating
in back-to-back marches spearheaded
by the area’s state senator.
“It was obviously hot, I understand
if people don’t want to
march in 90-degree heat, but we
had great support from the community,”
said freshman Sen. Andrew
Gounardes. “It was great to
bring the neighborhood together.”
Some 70 participants joined
the southern Brooklyn legislator
for both “United in Thanks”
marches — in Bay Ridge on Aug.
1 and Marine Park on Aug. 2 —
during which elected offi cials
and constituents came together
to extend their gratitude to the
thousands of paramedics, subway
employees, police offi cers and delivery
workers who kept the city
going through the months-long
shutdown to stem the spread of
the novel coronavirus.
“We are out here today to say
a heartfelt thanks to all of our
essential workers in this community
and elsewhere who really
helped power us through the
worst days of the pandemic,” Gounardes
said at the fi rst march in
Bay Ridge. “We know we are not
out of the woods yet but we want to
take a moment to express our deep
gratitude to them.”
Councilman Justin Brannan
joined Gounardes in leading the
Bay RIdge march down the Shore
Road Promenade from 80th Street
to the American Veterans Memorial
Pier, where participants congregated
for a vigil. Assemblywoman
Nicole Malliotakis, who
is vying for Staten Island House
Rep. Max Rose’s seat in November,
and State Senate candidate
Vito Bruno, who is hoping to unseat
Gounardes, also participated
in the march.
“It was important for us to
march together as a community to
say thank you to all the essential
workers who helped keep us safe
and healthy in our homes during
some of the darkest days of the
pandemic,” Brannan said. “We
will never forget how these frontline
workers — my neighbors and
yours — stepped up and made
extraordinary sacrifi ces to help
keep our city running. During the
height of COVID, all of our essential
workers became fi rst responders.
They are everyday heroes and
we are forever in their debt.”
At the pier, essential workers
spoke of working through
the statewide shutdown and reminded
participants how important
it is to remain vigilant as the
pandemic is not yet over.
“During the height of the pandemic,
when all fell silent in this
country and in this great city, all
everyone heard was the roar of our
sirens coming to save them,” said
Lieutenant Anthony Almojera,
vice president of the FDNY EMS
Offi cers Union. “Now they will
hear the outcry of our voices to remind
them that we are still here,
tired and a bit wary, but when you
call, we will still come.”
The following day in Marine
Park, a different group of electeds
— including Assemblywomen
Jaime Williams and Helene Weinstein
and city comptroller and
mayoral candidate Scott Stringer
— joined Gounardes in walking
the perimeter of the neighborhood’s
namesake greenspace.
“We can never properly express
our gratitude and appreciation
to those that have put their
lives on the line and continue to
do so with courage and fearlessness,”
Williams said in a statement.
“We must also never forget
their sacrifi ce and constantly offer
our support and love for these
brave men and women. Standing
in solidarity with our front line
workers can help illustrate our
love and appreciation for their
continued devotion to combating
this pandemic.”
Gounardes credited the weekend’s
peaceful turnouts to the
events’ emphasis on inclusivity.
“We thanked all of the essential
workers — the NYPD, the
FDNY, the doctors, nurses, everyone,”
he told Brooklyn Paper, “and
we did it in a way that was not divisive,
that was not you versus
me, us versus them, and I think
that made all the difference.”
Southern Brooklynites march for essential workers
Southern Brooklynites marched in Marine Park and Bay Ridge to thank essential
workers for stepping up during the coronavirus pandemic. Brooklyn Paper
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