NYC salutes pandemic essential workers with Hometown Heroes Parade By Kathy Carvajal New York City honored essential workers with a parade along the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan. NEW YORK - Thousands of people marched along the street and waved from 14 floats moving up the Canyon of Heroes on Wednesday as New York City honored all pandemic essential workers with the ‘Hometown Heroes Parade.’ "We’ve got a lot to appreciate because we’re well underway in our recovery. We’ve got a lot to celebrate and we’ve got a lot of people to celebrate," said Mayor Bill de Blasio, who rode during the parade on a float with hospital employees and Mr. Met, the mascot of the New York Mets.