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May 1-7, 2020 including KINGS COURIER & FLATBUSH LIFE
SERVING BENSONHURST, BRIGHTON BEACH, CONEY ISLAND, GERRITSEN BEACH, KINGS HIGHWAY, MANHATTAN BEACH, MIDWOOD, & SHEEPSHEAD BAY
BY ROSE ADAMS
More than 4,000 Brooklynites
have died from the
novel coronavirus since the
beginning of the virus’ outbreak
in mid-March — making
Kings County the deadliest
county for COVID-19 in the
state.
A quarter of New York
state’s confi rmed COVID-19
deaths has occurred in Brooklyn,
state data shows.
The high number of fatalities
comes as Brooklyn
nursing homes and psychiatric
group homes report overwhelming
COVID-19 cases and
a concerning lack of personal
protective gear. The Cobble
Hill Nursing Home reported
55 deaths on April 20 — more
than any other nursing home
in the state.
In total, Brooklyn houses
more than 44,200 COVID-19
patient, the second highest
number in the state behind
Queens’ 50,741 cases. Queens,
however, has witnesses couple
dozen fewer deaths than
Brooklyn as of April 28.
The high death toll comes
as the number of citywide
COVID-19 cases have begun to
trend downward. On April 6,
about 1,000 New York City residents
tested positive for the
virus — a signifi cant decrease
since the virus’ peak on April
6 of more than new 6,000 cases,
according to city data. City
hospital admissions have also
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced
that Brooklyn is the hardest
hit place in New York State
from COVID-19. File Photo
decreased to fewer than 200
per day, reaching a rate that
signals the worst is over, city
health offi cials say.
To combat the virus’
spread, Mayor Bill de Blasio
has continued enforcing
social distancing guidelines,
and the state extended
its stay-at-home order until
at least May 15, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo announced. The city
has also rolled out additional
COVID-19 testing in minority
neighborhoods, which have
been most heavily affected
by the virus, and introduced
self-swab testing and tracing
programs to minimize the disease’s
spread.
An off-duty cop sank her boyfriend’s $70,000 SUV into Jamaica Bay on April 22. Photo by Todd Maisel
NO GOOD NOSEDIVE!
BY TODD MAISEL
An off-duty cop lost control
of her boyfriend’s SUV
in Marine Park on April 22
and sunk the vehicle into Jamaica
Bay.
The 39-year-old cop was
testing out her boyfriend’s
Cadillac Escalade at the
southern end of Floyd Bennett
Field, a former Air Force
base, when she hit the accelerator
instead of the brake
at around 8:45 pm, police
reported. The $70,000 car
bounded through the weeds,
smashed into a rotten wooden
barrier, and dove into the bay
more than 50 feet away from
the paved roadway.
Both the driver and her
boyfriend escaped the car unharmed,
and took the crash
in stride.
“I didn’t mind going for a
swim, it was pretty cold, but
not this way,” said the boyfriend,
who did not want to be
identifi ed.
Police helicopters, boats,
and fi refi ghters rushed to the
scene within minutes of the
crash and took the couple to
Coney Island Hospital for observation.
On Thursday, divers were
on the scene marking the
car’s location so that police or
the Army Corps of Engineers
could lift the car out of the
water. The boyfriend stood on
Brooklyn tops city
in COVID-19 deaths
Off-duty cop sinks boyfriend’s car
into Jamaica Bay during joyride
Continued on page 13
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