Mayor Eric Adams Helps Unveil Lower Manhattan’s Newest Historical Marker With Essential Workers

Mayor Eric Adams and Deputy Mayors Lorraine Grillo, Meera Joshi, Maria Torres-Springer, Anne Williams-Isom and Sheena Wright joined the Downtown Alliance,more than a dozen essential workers, Borough President Mark Levine and City Council Member Christopher Marte on Thursday to celebrate the unveiling of Lower Manhattan’s new plaque at 250 Broadway — marking the 208th ticker-tape parade. Downtown Alliance President Jessica Lappin spoke and hosted the event. 

With the unveiling, the essential workforce that persevered throughout the Covid-19 pandemic is permanently marked in Lower Manhattan in the form of a granite plaque that resides at the northeast corner of Broadway and Park Place. 

This ticker-tape parade was held on July 7, 2021, and witnessed by thousands of New Yorkers who lined the streets to show their support as confetti rained down along Broadway. As is customary, the procession ended at City Hall where the group was also given symbolic keys to the city by then ​​Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

At the dedication ceremony, Alliance President Jessica Lappin opened remarks noting “There is a reason you are called “essential”. Our beloved city can’t run without you… You deliver our mail and our babies – no matter what, even in the face of fear and danger.”

Mayor Adams thanked the group of workers directly noting that it was “because of these everyday people that we’re standing here today.”

Borough President Levine echoed the mayor’s comments adding that “The [essential workers] were there for us at enormous risk to themselves… and they had done the equivalent of wartime service and deserve this honor.” While Council Member Marte told them “You saved this city and you made sure the future is bright.” 

MTA Group Station Manager Cherry Wiltshire, U.S. Postal Service Letter Carrier Feliciano Rafael and Nurse Practitioner at Con Edison’s Employee Wellness Center Maureen Kreider thanked the City for recognizing them and their coworkers with Rafael adding a special shout out to the children along his route that displayed drawings of gratitude at the height of the pandemic.

The event was attended by essential workers representing the Bowery Residents’ Committee, Con Edison, Duane Reade, MTA, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, NYC Department of Sanitation, NY Presbyterian, Port Authority, U.S. Postal Service, and the Downtown Alliance including: Bowery Residents’ Committee’s Tyler Berkekey and Terrell Johnson; Con Edison’s Maureen Kreider (Nurse Practitioner at Employee Wellness Center); Downtown Alliance’s Reginald Blue (Sanitation Team Member) and Darell Joseph (Public Safety Officer); Duane Reade’s Arssath Uthumalebbe (Store Manager) and Michael Kyriannis (Pharmacy Manager); MTA’s Alejandra Frino (Bus Operator) and Cherry Wiltshire (Group Station Manager); NYC Department of Parks & Recreation’s Ralph Musalino (Deputy Chief For Manhattan Operations); NYC Department of Sanitation’s Fernando Blanco (Sanitation Worker), Nicole Doz (Supervisor) and Tanya Jenkins (Sanitation Worker); NY Presbyterian’s John Jurenko (Director of Government Affairs & Grants) and Chui Lai (Assistant Vice President); Port Authority’s Ronnie Anderson (Train Dispatcher/Terminal Supervisor) and Jayson H. Zimmerman (Tunnel System Controller);  and U.S. Postal Service’s Feliciano Rafael (Letter Carrier).

The Downtown Alliance (the non profit Business Improvement District for Lower Manhattan) is the steward of the Ticker Tape Parades. The Alliance helps to disseminate ticker-tape confetti to the buildings along Broadway, assists in the post-parade cleanup process and installs granite sidewalk markers along Broadway to note each parade. The Alliance has also worked with the Museum of the City of New York to commission a thorough guide to each and every marker.