On Wednesday, July 7th, New York City will host a "Hometown Heroes" ticker tape parade honoring essential workers along Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes. The last ticker tape parade held here was for the US Women's National Soccer Team in 2019.
The lead-up to the parade has been bumpy—it was announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio last month, but not all essential workers were in the original list of those being honored, including funeral industry workers, who were tasked with picking up bodies during the crisis. (Following Gothamist's report, they were invited to join.)
ABC's Robin Roberts will host, and the Grand Marshal of the parade is Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at a hospital in Queens who was the first to receive the Pfizer vaccine in December. In addition to healthcare workers, transportation, utilities, education, bodega, and city workers (among many others) will be honored.
NYC's EMTs will not be attending, however, according to members of Local 2507. The Daily News reported they "hope their absence will highlight their push for better pay. EMS unions haven’t had a new contract with the city for three years."
What time do things start? 11 a.m.
Where? The parade route starts at Battery Park, then travels up Broadway along the Canyon of Heroes, and ends at City Hall, where the Mayor and First Lady will cheer marchers. (A previously planned ceremony at City Hall was canceled "to keep New Yorkers safe from the heat.")
How many floats? 14. Making this one of the largest ticker-tape parades in the city's history. This is the order in which they'll appear in the parade: Hospital Workers, Healthcare Workers, Education & Childcare, First Responders, Community Care, City Workers, Advocacy Organizations, Transportation, Hospitality & Building Care, Emergency Food, Communication & Delivery, Small Businesses & Bodega, Utilities, Reinforcements.
Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) Brooklyn Union (BU) Elevated car 1273, part of the New York Transit Museum’s vintage fleet, is loaded onto a flatbed trailer at the South Brooklyn Interchange Yard on Tuesday, in advance of Wednesday’s Hometown Heroes Parade.
Will there be a very old subway car involved in some way? Yes. Members of the MTA will be riding in a 118-year-old subway car, courtesy of the Transit Museum. Car 1273 is a wooden-body train car, and the oldest in their collection—in fact, it was in service during the city's first pandemic in 1918. It will be transported via a flatbed truck, then used as a float during the parade.
And will there be a 1980s cover band, for some reason? There will be 10 bands performing, but only one is "The World’s Best 80’s Band, Jessie’s Girl."
Are you invited? Yes. If you are fully vaccinated you can "come as you are," while others will be asked to mask up and distance.
Will it be streaming? Yes. You will be able video of the parade on any major network, including their streaming platform. If an embed becomes available we'll include it here.
"We're giving working people the salute they deserve," Mayor de Blasio said. "If you want to be a part of this absolutely historic parade up the Canyon of Heroes, all are welcome to come and enjoy and see the heroes that we'll be saluting. This is outdoors and it's really a moment to celebrate."
