NYC Hometown Heroes Parade: Here's What You Need To Know

NEW YORK CITY — Presidents. Astronauts. Military heroes. Sports stars. Record setters.

All those people have seen the Canyon of Heroes fill with ticker tape, cheers and massive throngs of spectators in their honor.

And a new group will join that illustrious company on Wednesday, when the "Hometown Heroes Parade" snakes up from Battery Park to City Hall.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the parade fulfills a promise that the city will everyday New Yorkers who helped pull the city through and out from the coronavirus pandemic.

"In the toughest of times, they deserve all the praise we can give them," he said Tuesday. "They deserve a march down the Canyon of Heroes because it's something that is reserved for the greatest folks in history. Well here are some of the folks who made history in New York City's toughest hour: our health care heroes, our first responders, our essential workers, our educators. We're celebrating all of them."

Here's what you need to know about the city's upcoming ticker tape extravaganza.

When is it? What's the route?

The parade will start at 11 a.m. in Battery Park, march up Broadway to City Hall.

"No Parking" will be in effect beginning at 12:00 a.m. before the parade. Any remaining cars will be towed, officials warn.

The Brooklyn Bridge Centre Street exit, which is the Manhattan-bound route, will be closed the parade. The Park Row entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge will also be closed.

Anyone looking for access to the Brooklyn Bridge should use the Frankfort Street/Pearl Street entrance.

Closures start at 10 a.m. on Broadway and the surrounding area.

Pedestrians looking to cross Broadway can do so at the following locations: Exchange Alley (Eastbound only), Wall Street-Rector (Westbound only), Cedar Street, Cortland Street/Maiden Lane, Fulton Street, Reade Street, and Leonard Street.

Who will be there?

Sandra Lindsay, a New York City nurse who became the first person vaccinated in America, will be the parade Grand Marshal.

The parade will feature 14 different floats, which officials say makes it one of the largest ticket tape events in the city's history.

Those floats will represent 260 different types of essential worker. The float categories, according to the mayor's office, are:

• Hospitals
• Healthcare
• Emergency food
• Community care
• First responders
• Transportation
• City workers
• Small businesses and bodegas
• Education and childcare
• Utilities
• Hospitality/buildings care
• Reinforcements
• Advocacy organizations
• Communication and delivery

De Blasio previously announced there would be a big closing ceremony. But on Tuesday he said it'll be a much smaller, "stripped-down" version amid a heat advisory.

What's this about a heat advisory?

Wednesday will be the second day of a two-day heat advisory.

High temperatures will reach 87 degrees, with heat indices potentially reaching the lower 100s, according to the National Weather Service.

De Blasio said parade planners, in addition to paring down the closing ceremony, will add cooling stations along the route.

Will it be crowded? What about masks?

De Blasio said he doesn't expect the parade to draw 1 million-plus spectators like previous Canyon of Heroes events.

He noted that many buildings along the route simply don't have everybody back at work.

"Look, I think it's going to be a healthy attendance, but I don't think it's necessarily going to be those traditional huge attendance for a variety of reasons," he said.

People are vaccinated and unvaccinated alike can attend without separate areas. But unvaccinated people are encouraged to wear masks.

More information can be found here.