Five years after COVID-19 devastated New York City, no memorial exists for its victims or caregivers. A City Council bill to study a memorial on Hart Island has stalled for a year, and state funding for memorials remains inactive. Family members express frustration over the lack of recognition, feeling that the city's inaction reflects its attitude towards COVID. Previous memorial efforts include a temporary tribute by college students and a sculpture honoring sanitation workers, but these fall short of a comprehensive memorial for all victims.
We passed the five-year mark [last week], and to still have nothing, and to learn of this [Council] bill that has been sitting there for a year with still no movement, it really is a testament to the way that the city feels about COVID.
Quite honestly, it is so disgusting and disheartening. I think it's really long overdue that New York City step up the way that other cities and states across the country have.
Both she and her sister, Danielle Alejandro, spearheaded a 'Yellow Heart Memorial' held in 2022 at Queens College where 123 yellow paper hearts were displayed to honor members of the college's community lost during the pandemic.
The only other Gotham tributes include the city's Sanitation Department unveiling a Lower Manhattan sculpture in May 2021 titled 'Forever Strongest' to honor agency workers who died from the virus.
Collection
[
|
...
]