Closing ceremony of NYC essential worker parade nixed due to heat
The closing ceremony of the city’s ticker-tape parade honoring essential workers along the Canyon of Heroes Wednesday will be canceled due to scorching temperatures, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday afternoon.
“We have a little bit of a challenge because we do have some heat tomorrow,” de Blasio said earlier Tuesday during his daily press briefing — before the closing event was nixed altogether.
“It’s something we have to work with, and we are going to make some changes to keep people safe.”
The city will be under a heat advisory on Wednesday, though the 94-degree high will feel “less bad” than the sizzling heat wave last week.
The parade — honoring “hometown heroes” such as teachers, nurses and doctors — will begin at 11 a.m. in Battery Park, with “thousands” marching up Broadway to City Hall, according to Hizzoner.
With the real-feel high forecast to reach 105 degrees, de Blasio opted to cancel the planned ceremony at the end of the march. In lieu of it, the mayor and First Lady will “cheer marchers to applaud New York City’s hometown heroes,” according to a press release.
Queens nurse Sandra Lindsay, the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine dose outside of a clinical trial, will serve as the parade’s grand marshal, de Blasio said.
The city will also add cooling and water stations along the parade route, de Blasio said.
De Blasio said the event will be “memorable” and a “major celebration.”
“We’ve got a lot to celebrate and a lot of people to celebrate,” said the mayor. “This is going to be memorable, this is going to be a parade for everyday people, for working people who made a difference for this city.”
“We want to welcome all New Yorkers to come be a part of it and celebrate our heroes.”
At the pandemic’s peak in April 2020, de Blasio first vowed to pay tribute to the Big Apple’s essential workers who put their lives on the line — once COVID-19 safety restrictions were lifted.
“The day is coming where we will overcome this disease,” de Blasio told reporters at the time. “When that day comes that we can restart the vibrant, beautiful life of this city, the first thing we will do is have a ticker-tape parade.”
“We will honor those who saved us.”
De Blasio announced the July 7 date for the parade last month.
The Broadway Canyon of Heroes parade route has celebrated major figures such as Winston Churchill, the Apollo 11 astronauts, Pope John Paul II, as well as the Mets, Yankees, Rangers and Giants championship teams.
