FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 8, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Queens nurse honored at White House before
leading New York City’s Hometown Heroes parade
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Queens critical care nurse Sandra
Lindsay served as the grand marshal of
the city’s Hometown Heroes Parade up
the Canyon of Heroes on Wednesday,
July 7.
Th e parade honored all the essential
workers who brought New York City
through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic
and featured 14 diff erent fl oats,
making it one of the largest ticker tape
parades in the city’s history, according to
Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“It is truly an honor and privilege
to serve as the grand marshal in the
Hometown Heroes ticker tape parade
and represent all health care and essential
workers whose heroic eff orts saved
lives during the COVID-19 pandemic,”
Lindsay said.
Born and raised in Jamaica, the West
Indies, Lindsay moved to the United
States in 1986. She serves as the director of
nursing critical care at Northwell Health’s
Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where
she was the fi rst to volunteer to take
the inoculation during one of Governor
Andrew Cuomo’s press events on Dec. 14.
Aft er Lindsay received the fi rst Pfi zer
shot, she made a memorable statement
that helped launch New York state’s vaccination
eff ort.
“Governor Cuomo, I’m feeling well. I
would like to thank all the frontline workers,
all my colleagues, who’ve been doing
a yeoman’s job throughout this pandemic
all over the world. I am hopeful. I feel,
I hope today, relieved,” Lindsay said. “I
feel like healing is coming and this marks
the beginning of the end of a very painful
time in our history. I want to instill public
confi dence that the vaccine is safe. We’re
in a pandemic and so we all need to do
your part to put an end to the pandemic,
and to not give up so soon. Th ere is light
at the end of the tunnel, but we still need
to continue to wear our masks, to social
distance. I believe in science. As a nurse,
my practice is guided by science and so
I trust that. What I don’t trust is that, if
I contract COVID, I don’t know how it
would impact or those who I come in contact
with, so I encourage everyone to take
the vaccine.”
Aft er Lindsay lead the parade through
the Canyon of Heroes, Mayor de Blasio
hosted a ceremony at City Hall Park to
publicly thank the 260 diff erent groups
of essential workers including hospital,
healthcare, fi rst responders, small businesses
and bodegas, education and childcare,
advocacy organizations, communications
and delivery.
“Th e Summer of New York City is
underway, and the beating heart of our
recovery is the gratitude and respect we
all share for the essential workers who
brought this city out of a crisis,” de Blasio
said before the parade. “Th is celebration
will honor all those who fought through
adversity and unprecedented challenges
to keep New Yorkers safe. I can’t wait to
celebrate alongside them.”
Lindsay also attended a White House
ceremony hosted by President Joe
Biden, where she was recognized as an
“Outstanding American by Choice,” a U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services
program that recognizes citizens who
have been naturalized.
Before he swore in dozens of immigrants
as new U.S. citizens during the East
Courtesy of the governor’s offi ce
Lindsay became a national fi gure when she volunteered
to become the fi rst person in the United States to
receive the Pfi zer COVID-19 vaccination.
Room celebration, Biden called on Lindsay
to receive a proclamation. Th e president
chronicled how she arrived in Queens
as an 18-year-old, got her college degree
at CUNY, a degree in nursing, a master’s
degree and then her doctorate, and then
Biden had a special announcement.
“Sandra’s vaccination card and hospital
scrubs and the badge she wore will be
included in the Smithsonian’s National
Museum of American History exhibit
on COVID-19,” Biden said. “Sandra,
thank you for representing the very
best of us.”
Lotto ticket worth $1,000 a week
for life sold at Woodside store
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A winning CASH4LIFE ticket was sold
at a Queens grocery store.
Th e second prize ticket, worth a guaranteed
$1,000 a week for life, was sold at
Akota Grocery & Halal Meat, located at
40-04 73rd St. in Woodside. Th e winning
numbers in the July 1 drawing were 05,
32, 45, 46, 54 and Cash Ball 03.
The winning numbers for the
CASH4LIFE game are drawn from a fi eld
of one to 60, and the Cash Ball is drawn
from a separate fi eld of one to four. Th e
CASH4LIFE drawing takes place every
Monday and Th ursday at 9 p.m.
A lottery draw game prize of any
amount may be claimed up to one year
from the date of the drawing.
Photo via Google Maps
Akota Grocery & Halal Meat, located at 40-04 73rd St. in Woodside.
Photo via REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Queens critical care nurse Sandra
Lindsay was honored by
President Joe Biden
at the White House
on the same day
she was named
grand marshal
of the city’s
Hometown
Heroes parade.
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