By NAN NEWS EDITOR
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. March 14, 2023: Over 1.1 million people in the U.S. have died from the COVID-19 virus and now a Caribbean American Congressman wants a National COVID-19 Memorial in New York City.
Dominican Republic-born Representative, Adriano Espaillat, (NY-13), has joined with Rep. Ritchie Torres, (NY-15), and Rep. Jamaal Bowman Ed.D., (NY-16), to introduce legislation to establish a commission to create the Memorial.
“Over one million American lives were lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and families continue to feel the impact of unprecedented financial, emotional and physical damages still today,” said Congressman Espaillat. “As we continue our nation’s recovery and healing, it is incumbent on each of us to never forget the lives we lost and the impact to communities around the nation due to the pandemic. ….We must never forget the impact of COVID-19 and the resilience of our nation to get through its devastation.”
The COVID-19 National Memorial Act would commemorate victims and help the US overcome the national tragedy of COVID-19 as a collective. The legislation would create a commission to plan, design, and raise funds for a national memorial in the Bronx that honors those who lost their lives to the pandemic as well as the doctors, nurses, first responders and other heroes who selflessly fought to overcome the invisible enemy of the virus.
The bill urges that The Bronx community, which was one of the hardest hit parts of the country and the initial epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, be the location for the establishment of a national memorial.
