Health

New Yorkers entertain themselves with singing contest from their balconies

New York City, US, May 14 (efe-epa).- New Yorkers keep finding new ways to entertain themselves while the coronavirus epidemic continues to affect the city, which is unlikely to return to normal for some months.

The latest idea was a singing contest from balconies Thursday to pay tribute to their unofficial anthem “New York, New York.”

The competition arose after the Peace of Heart Choir launched the “New York Sings Along” initiative in mid-April, encouraging residents to sing the song, popularized by Frank Sinatra but originally sung by Liza Minnelli, from their balconies at 7 pm, after the daily applause dedicated to health workers.

The goal was to raise the spirits of the residents of the Big Apple, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in the US.

Led by Peace of Heart, who sang the song daily on local radio stations WKCR (89.9 FM) and WBAI (99.5 FM), thousands of New Yorkers have been singing along to the rhythm of the triumphant piece.

After spending five weeks of residents singing “New York, New York” on their balconies, the group organized a competition Thursday between the three areas of the Big Apple that have shown the most enthusiasm.

The contest was held between residents of Morton Street in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood, who sang from the sidewalk, as well as 110th Street in northwest Manhattan, who sang from their balconies, and 66th Street, near the Lincoln Centre, also in northwest Manhattan.

“Since its founding in 2001 after September 11, the Peace of Heart Choir has performed more than 400 free concerts of live music in nursing homes, hospitals, and shelters across NYC,” choir board chair John Aerni said in a statement on Thursday.

“We believe in the power of music to offer solace, bring us together and build community,” Aerni added.

According to figures from the choir, the singalong initiative has reached more than 300,000 people through Facebook and more than 20,000 people have participated in the event since Apr. 16, the first day New Yorkers sang their anthem in unison.

The United States reached 1,416,528 COVID-19 cases and 85,813 deaths Thursday, according to the independent count of John Hopkins University, while the state of New York remains the epicenter with 343,051 infected and 27,607 deceased. EFE-EPA

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