'A Big Hug From New York:' LI Nurse Leads Hometown Heroes Parade

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Ticker tape rained down on lower Manhattan Wednesday as thousands of essential workers took part in the city's "Hometown Heroes" parade.

The long-promised parade kicked off at 11 a.m. in Battery Park and honored New York City's essential workers for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The parade's 14 floats — each honoring a category of essential worker — made it one of the biggest ticker-tape events in the city's history, officials said.

The parade's grand marshal was Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse from Port Washington and the first person to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. She sat in a black convertible and waved at spectators as they cheered her on.

"This is just amazing. It's a big hug from New York," Lindsay, the director of critical care at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, told CBS.

"I'll be thinking about all the great people of New York City who have supported us — all frontline workers, all essential workers, all first responders," she said. "My heart will also go out to those who we lost along the way, unfortunately. My sincere condolences. And we will never, ever forget you. Thank you, New York."

Wednesday's event took place more than a year after COVID-19 began ravaging entire neighborhoods, overwhelming hospitals, and straining funeral homes past capacity in New York City. The Big Apple is no longer the epicenter of the pandemic — but the virus has already killed more than 40,000 New Yorkers.

Below are some photos from the "Hometown Heroes" parade: