A BOROUGH IN MOURNING
Queens residents shed tears during emotional COVID Remembrance Day
BY DEAN MOSES
A borough wept. A borough
healed.
Over 7,000 Queens residents
have perished to COVID-
19, and on May 1, a fraction of
those lost were represented
within a cultural center they
will never enjoy again.
The Forest Park Bandshell
was constructed with human
life in mind, an artistic focal
point from where spectators
assemble in benches and marvel
at the talents of others. But
during the Queens COVID
Remembrance Day (QCRD)
on Saturday, these benches
were void of the life they
were built for, instead serving
to facilitate a makeshift
funeral service many were
deprived of during the height
of pandemic. The center row
of chairs stretched into the
bandshell’s wide berth, each
one harboring a painting
representing an absent life.
Grieving family members sat
on the outskirts.
This moralization of the
dead and celebration of lives
led was organized by the QCRD
committee and intended to aid
in the ongoing healing process.
With countless people
unable to say goodbye to their
loved ones due to hospital restrictions
and protocols, the
afternoon functioned as a way
for families to both grieve together
and heal together.
The opening ceremony
was ticketed and exclusively
intended for the deceased’s
kin. Attendees arrived just
before 1 p.m., bringing bouquets
of flowers and framed
photographs. Some held each
other’s hands, others gripped
one another’s shoulders, but
all carried with them an unspoken
understanding that
the day would be an emotionally
taxing one. As the first
speaker and co-organizer
Brian Walter took to the stage
and spoke about his own loss,
it ushered in a wave of grief,
and a deluge of tears.
“A year ago today marked
the halfway point in my father’s
fight against COVID.
I took him to the hospital on
April 22, and the monster
would take him from us on
May 10. Our COVID story
is like many of yours: Zoom
Queens residents mourned the loss of loved ones during a memorial service at the Forest Park Bandshell. Photos by Dean Moses
calls, roller-coaster rides of
updates from doctors, and the
constant unknown of what
was coming next, and in the
end a heartbreaking loss of
a life that should never have
been taken,” Walter told onlookers.
Walter was flanked on stage
by fellow committee members
and elected officials such as
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards, Senator
Joe Addabbo, Congresswoman
Grace Meng and Assemblywoman
Jenifer Rajkumar.
Draped behind them hung a
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | MAY 7-MAY 13, 2021
curtain of yellow hearts inscribed
with more names of
those lost to the deadly virus.
Before their speeches, speakers
stood in solemn reflection
of the names, each mother,
daughter, son, father, sister
and brother lost to time and
memory. With a drape of bereavement
behind him and a
sea of sorrow ahead of him,
it was clear this monumental
loss affected the way in which
Donovan Richards addressed
attendees.
“I am deeply sorry to hear
of each and every one of your
losses due to the COVID-19
pandemic. That is why we are
here to mourn, to reflect, to
remember, to offer comfort,”
Richards began with 30 seconds
of silence. Citing racial
and gender disparities, Richards
continued: “We lost far
too many due to these inequities
which plague our systems
and institutions. These
deaths were preventable.
Those deaths were systematic
failures, not the science or the
challenges of the crisis alone
— we were not prepared,”
Richards said.
Once the opening ceremony
concluded, family
members carried the weight
of their losses to the seats
holding the depictions of
their loved ones where they
paid their respects by laying
flowers and sitting beside the
hand-drawn illustrations. But
this act proved too much for
many. Attendees broke down,
shedding tears, clasping fellow
survivors in agony.
The Queens COVID Remembrance
Day lasted until
8 p.m. and finished with a
sunset vigil.
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