Queens COVID Remembrance Day is set for May 1

Mount Sinai Queens nurses make a heart sign as they pose for a photo to celebrate the last day of National Nurses Week 2020 on May 12, 2020. AP Photo

By David Brand

The Forest Park Bandshell will soon transform into a vibrant memorial honoring the thousands of Queens residents who have died during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Queens COVID Remembrance Day will take place May 1, with volunteers decorating the bandshell bleachers with the names and images of deceased neighbors and community members. The pictures are created by the local arts group Faces Of Covid Victims.

The memorial and vigil will also feature an installation from The Floral Heart Project, an essential worker tribute and a “Yellow Hearts Memorial,” featuring hearts inscribed with the names of COVID-19 victims from around the world. 

“The Queens COVID Remembrance Day will be a day of solemn reflection as well as a celebration of the lives that COVID has taken from us,” said Brian Walter, an organizer with the Queens COVID Remembrance Day group hosting the event.

Two state lawmakers, Sen. Joseph Addabbo and Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, will present the QCRD group with a resolution recognizing their efforts to memorialize Queens residents

“The work that the Queens Covid Remembrance Day group put into this event is extraordinary and heartfelt,” Addabbo said.

More than 31,000 New York City residents have died of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with the illness taking a disproportionate toll on immigrants, people of color and low-income residents.

New Yorkers, Queens residents and anyone who has lost a loved one can submit their names to the QCRD organization through an online form. You can also honor an essential worker by submitting their names for recognition.