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Videos: Have You Been Clapping For The Helpers Every Night?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 3, 2020
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Scott Lynch / Gothamist
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 3, 2020
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One week ago, or in modern time-measurements, around five years ago, New Yorkers began clapping for the helpers. The campaign, which launched on March 27th, was originally set to happen every Friday but cooped up New Yorkers took it upon themselves to clap from their windows and rooftops every night at 7 p.m. The whole thing is quite moving, lasting about three solid minutes each time.
And the cheers, which are for all essential workers, have been getting louder each night. Here are some efforts photographer Scott Lynch saw this week, taken at the East River Cooperative apartments on Grand Street (where someone even played "New York, New York"!), and at the corner of Bleecker at West 10th.
The initiative was led by the Karla Otto agency, who reached out to Gothamist just a day before the inaugural clap. "Following successful activations in Europe, we wanted to come together to clap and celebrate for all the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, grocery store workers, restaurant workers, truck drivers, sanitation workers, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and whoever else deserves a round of applause for their continued, essential work," they wrote.
If you capture clapping and cheering in your neighborhood, tag your videos with #ClapBecauseWeCare on social media because we all need this right now.
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coronavirus
Clap Because We Care
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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