NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — More details are being learned as New York City is getting ready to honor its pandemic heroes with a ticker tape parade up Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes next week.
Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed Friday that the grand marshal of the Hometown Heroes Parade will be Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse from Queens who in December became the first person in the United States to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Lindsay will be honored at a City Hall ceremony hosted by "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts after the parade, which is set to kick off at 11 a.m. Wednesday in Battery Park.
“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 efforts saved lives during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lindsay, who on Friday was awarded the "Outstanding American by Choice" distinction by President Joe Biden.
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The ceremony will also feature a performance by the Northwell Health Nurse Choir, recently featured on “America’s Got Talent.”
"It's going to be a very, very special moment for the city," de Blasio said Friday on WNYC's "Brian Lehrer Show." "We're going to honor the health care heroes, the first responders, the essential workers, the members of the media, everyone who was there for us during COVID and saw us through."
More special guests are expected to be announced in the coming days.
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The mayor said all New Yorkers, whether they are vaccinated or not, are encouraged to come out and salute the city's health care heroes and essential workers.
Those who haven't yet gotten their shot are strongly advised to wear a mask.
"If you're vaccinated come as you are, if you're not vaccinated, feel free to come and join in, but you know, the advice from our health care team is to wear a mask to protect everyone around you and, obviously, be aware, keep distance as best you can," de Blasio said. "But the fact is this is outdoors and it's really a moment to celebrate folks who just, you know, without these folks New York City wouldn't have made it through."
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The parade will feature 14 floats with groups of health care workers, first responders, educators, municipal workers, transportation workers, grocery and bodega workers, and delivery people.
It will be New York's first non-sports related ticker tape parade since 1998, when astronaut John Glenn was honored.
The last time New York City held a ticker tape parade was in July 2019, honoring the U.S. National Women's Soccer team on their World Cup victory.
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