Sharing Stories Of Loss And Life During COVID

THE CITY’s MISSING THEM project has published more than 200 obituaries for those who died due to COVID in New York City — only a small fraction of the nearly 25,000 of those who have died since the start of the pandemic because of the virus. However, in those 200 stories we have written, you’ll find a celebration of life, a picture of New York and a testament to the strong bond of family, friends and neighborhoods.

To kick off Saturday's event, actor and director Reza Salazar has crafted a theatrical tribute inspired by these obituaries. Performed by actors Adriana Sananes, Demetrius Daniel, Danaya Esperanza, Ellis Vizcarra and Francis Mateo, MISSING THEM will be represented in a 40-minute Zoom experience honoring these stories and celebrating the lives of New Yorkers taken too soon.

Join us to grieve and celebrate the lives cut short by the pandemic.

Following the theatrical performance, more than a dozen families will join us to share a memory or a story in honor of those they lost due to COVID.

Our hope is that telling these stories in some small way will create avenues of connection and bring some comfort for those speaking and those bearing witness.

We also want to invite people to listen and provide a generous ear and empathic heart to those sharing. Attendees are not required to stay for the full three hours. We encourage everyone to join us for as long as they can.

So please attend this event if you'd like to share a story about someone you lost OR support those telling stories of those they lost due to COVID.

NOTE: If you’re apprehensive about sharing, but want to talk to someone, please let us know. We can connect you with one of our partners to help you through the process. You can contact us at memorial@thecity.nyc.

THE CITY’s MISSING THEM project is an ambitious effort to track down every New Yorker that died due to COVID-19 and write a story about them.