While there is no shortage of official tributes to healthcare workers around New York City — a heart carved into the lawn at Bryant Park, landmarks lit up in blue, Rockefeller ice skating rink showing #NewYorkTough, the Empire State Building pulsing red — those from the community feel even more touching. This one across from Brooklyn Methodist Hospital (part of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital network) in Park Slope caught our eye.
The faux-plaque, designed in the style of a historical marker, is by artist Norm Magnusson and was photographed by Rich Garr, a tour guide who runs the street art tour company Gotham Sidewalks and posts his findings on Instagram. Garr writes “Out and about yesterday around Brooklyn and found that unsurprisingly the street art scene is thriving. No museum or gallery needed.”
The sign reads, “ON THIS SITE STOOD GROCERY WORKERS, NURSES, HOSPITAL STAFF, DOCTORS, MAIL CARRIERS, IMMIGRANT LABORERS, AND OTHER TRUE HEROES OF OUR PANDEMIC LIVES.” The wheat paste artwork is located on the stoop leading up to 1116 8th Avenue, next to the restaurant Johnny Mack’s Bar & Grill. The sign is part of a long-standing series of activism art Magnusson has been doing. We are told there is at least one other dedicated to frontline workers in Brooklyn besides this one.
Just for reference, here is what a real plaque looks like, photographed at the site of the lost baseball field at Dexter Park:
Next, see the giant heart carved into the Bryant Park lawn!
