The Big Apple’s Hometown Heroes ticker tape parade kicked off Wednesday morning amid scorching temperatures to celebrate the grueling work New York’s myriad essential workers endured throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The unsung heroes are being sung about,” Virtue Brown Jr., a peace officer with the city Department of Social Services, told The Post as he proudly wore a T-shirt showing off the agency he toils for.

“Everyone was lining up on both sides. It was surprising. Normally we’d be sitting watching the Giants or the Mets or the Yankees coming down [the] Canyon of Heroes. Now I’m walking down.”

At least 2,500 marchers and 14 floats representing 260 different groups of essential workers paraded from Battery Park and down Broadway’s “Canyon of Heroes” as technicolor confetti rained down and marching bands set a rousing rhythm. 

The iconic stretch has been used to honor world leaders, victorious sport teams, soldiers and celebrities for at least a century but Wednesday’s parade is the first in Big Apple history that exclusively commemorated the everyday working person, according to the Downtown Alliance.

“[Essential workers] deserve a march down the Canyon of Heroes because it’s something that is reserved for the greatest folks in history. Well, here are some of the folks who made history in New York City’s toughest hour,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said before the parade started.

“We’ve got a lot to appreciate because we’re well underway in our recovery. We’ve got a lot to celebrate and we’ve got a lot of people to celebrate.”

Torian Easterling, the first deputy commissioner and chief equity officer at the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told The Post it was time to recognize the people who kept the city moving while others stayed at home.

“You’re looking at people who have been coming into the office since March of 2020,” Easterling said from Battery Park. 

“Before this was an international health emergency, these were folks who were looking at data, who identified these issues beforehand, before the public even knew that there was a problem.”

As hundreds of workers holding brightly colored signs made their way down Broadway, groups of transit workers shouted “hazard pay” over and over again.

“It’s been trying times. I would not wish that experience on anyone. We moved the city,” Duane Anderson, a 55-year-old transit worker, said as he marched along.

“It’s been bittersweet. We lost coworkers, and the ones that we didn’t lose, we were able to persevere and make it through.”

Anderson said he was “elated” to be at the parade because “sometimes, we don’t get the full recognition that we deserve.”

Captain Kevin Park from the US Army Corps of Engineers said it was an “honor” to be celebrated and have the opportunity to march side by side with all of New York’s pandemics heroes that responded when the Big Apple needed them the most.

“We were proud to answer the call, we knew what was needed, and we were able to get the job done,” Park, 33, said.

Stacy Fard works for FreshDirect and pointed to the crucial work the company did when many New Yorkers couldn’t get to the grocery store, especially the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

“Our delivery team and operations team helped to feed New York City during the pandemic, and [we’re here] to celebrate that … recognize our hard work to help keep the city alive,” Fard, 35, said.

“I was just thinking, like, last year at this time in June … you couldn’t even step out the door, and now we’re all here celebrating, remembering that we actually made it through the pandemic.”

The parade celebrated all sorts of essential workers, including doctors, nurses, educators and bodega staffers but EMTs, paramedics and fire inspectors were noticeably absent after they boycotted the event to draw attention to their low pay and stalled contract negotiations. 

“A parade does not supply a home or food on the table for these workers and their families. A parade does not bring this workforce out of the poverty wages they are now being paid. It is far past time that the city gives this workforce the respect they deserve in livable wages,” said Oren Barzilay, the President of Local 2507, which represents the first responders.

“We believe New York’s brave essential workers should be recognized in a meaningful way, but the public display from the de Blasio administration is all optics and no substance. It is not the recognition we need.”

The parade concluded at City Hall with de Blasio and first lady Chirlane McCray waiting at the finish line to applaud marchers in lieu of a more elaborate closing ceremony that was nixed because of the hot weather.

Ciro Frulio, the corporate vice president at New York Life who helped create the Brave of Heart Fund to support families of healthcare workers who died from COVID-19, was all smiles when he saw his two daughters jumping and down for him at the finish line.

“For me it’s nice to see the support. We know everyone’s out there supporting each other but I guess to some degree, there’s some level of closure to see the people recognized for the work they’re doing,” Frulio, 41, said as the sun beat down on his cheeks.

“Saw a lot of people out there hands on their heart saying thank you. Some people were blowing kisses … it’s times like this where the city really shines.”

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Rosner