New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is announcing a ticker-tape parade that will take place once the pandemic is over.
The parade, which will go down the Canyon of Heroes, will be held in honor of healthcare professionals and first responders on the front lines of the fight to combat the coronavirus.
During Tuesday’s coronavirus press briefing, de Blasio announced the parade, noting that the first thing the city will do is thank those who have worked tirelessly to care for coronavirus patients.
“I want to guarantee you one thing, that when that day comes that I can restart the vibrant beautiful life of this city again, the first thing we will do is have a ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes for our healthcare workers and our first responders,” de Blasio said.
“We will honor those who saved us.”
He added, “The first thing we will do before we think about anything else is we will take the time as only New York City can do to throw the biggest, best parade to honor these heroes.”
See de Blasio’s remarks below:
De Blasio also took to Twitter with a confident message to New Yorkers about the parade.
While he made it clear that the parade would not take place until “the time is right,” he is optimistic the city will be able to host cultural events and have parades again.
“I can’t tell you when we’ll be able to host cultural events and parades again. But I can tell you WHO our first parade will be for,” the mayor tweeted. “When the time is right, New York City will honor our health care workers and first responders with a ticker-tape parade up the Canyon of Heroes.”
I can’t tell you when we’ll be able to host cultural events and parades again. But I can tell you WHO our first parade will be for:
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) April 21, 2020
When the time is right, New York City will honor our health care workers and first responders with a ticker tape parade up the Canyon of Heroes.
As of April, New York City has canceled all non-essential events — concerts, sporting events, cultural events and more — through the end of June.
There are currently more than 247,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state of New York, including over 136,000 cases in New York City.