The parade took place along the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan.
Confetti filled the streets of lower Manhattan on Wednesday as New Yorkers gathered for a ticker tape parade honoring the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Called the Hometown Heroes Parade, the event was held along the Canyon of Heroes, nearly 16 months after New York City became the nation's first COVID-19 epicenter.
Among the 14 floats is an old subway car from 1904 that was resurrected for MTA workers to ride in along the parade route.
Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit, was overcome with emotion seeing how many people came to show their support.
"It's just wonderful to see the city come out and thank our workforce," she told ABC New York station WABC.
Eric Adams, who was announced Tuesday as the winner of New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, was among those joining parade festivities.
The former police captain declined to comment on the race to ABC New York station WABC, insisting the day was about essential workers.
"We need to honor them [essential workers] with pay equity ... we need to show them the respect they deserve," Adams said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is also at the party.
Department of Sanitation workers, who were among those honored in the parade, will also get to work cleaning up the confetti once the festivities end.
As the confetti falls, the sounds of marching bands and revelers are echoing through the streets. New Yorkers are standing on the sides of the parade route, cheering, ringing bells and holding "Thank you" signs while the floats and bands move through.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, New York City's seven-day average positivity rate is now 0.96%. More than 605,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19.
The ticker tape parade along lower Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes is underway.
The 14 parade floats represent 260 groups of essential workers, including first responders, small business employees, delivery workers and childcare employees.
Queens nurse Sandra Lindsay, who was the first person in the U.S. to get the COVID-19 vaccine, is the parade’s Grand Marshal.
