#Monument for essential workers during COVID-19 in NYC sparks backlash

A planned Lower Manhattan monument to honor essential workers who fought on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic was met with a protest on Saturday.

A group of New Yorkers gathered near the construction site in Battery Park City in the hopes of saving the green space set to be replaced by the “Circle of Heroes,” according to NBC 4.

The demonstrators are upset that there were no public meetings or hearings about the plans to chop down trees and pave over grass in order to build the concrete structure, the report said.

“These trees, this green space, it’s the largest green space south of Central Park,” Tristan Snell, of the Battery Park City Parents’ Association told the outlet.

“Parks were vital to the city getting through COVID and we just want to make sure that we don’t end up doing something that we can’t take back,” Snell continued. “We want to measure twice and cut once.”

Plans for the monument were announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday.

Cuomo said the new memorial would open on Labor Day, and feature an eternal flame along with 19 red maple trees, symbolizing the 19 types of essential workers that kept the city afloat during the darkest days of the pandemic.

“This location was chosen in an open process by 23 leaders representing hundreds of thousands of essential workers, and the site design allows for people to continue to enjoy the park space,” Cuomo spokesperson Jordan Bennett told the station.

More than 50,000 New Yorkers have been killed by the virus.