A tale of two outbreaks: Upper Manhattan
taking hardest COVID-19 hit in borough
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
From the northernmost tip
of Manhattan in Inwood
down to East Harlem, communities
across Upper Manhattan
have suffered the most during the
coronavirus outbreak, according
to data from the city’s Health
Department.
Nine of the top 10 ZIP codes
with the most COVID-19 cases are
located uptown, generally in communities
that are lower-income and
include more people of color than
communities further south. Northern
Manhattan communities had
higher rates of cases and deaths per
100,000 people, as well as higher
percentages of individuals who
tested positive for the virus.
The East Harlem ZIP code of
10029 had the most COVID-19
cases on the island, with 1,698
as of May 18. More than 10% of
the patients died, with 182 virusrelated
deaths reported in the
area. The death toll in 10029 was
also the highest of any Manhattan
ZIP code.
The neighboring ZIP code of
10035, also East Harlem, had the
highest case average per 100,000
people, with 2,617.16. There were
901 COVID-19 cases in total there,
with 101 resulting in death, or
about 11.2% of infected patients.
Central Harlem and Morningside
Heights’ 10037 ZIP code
had the highest death average
MAP COURTESY OF NYC DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE
This map shows the levels of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code
across New York City.
Three cuffed in narcotic and gun bust on Lower East Side
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Law enforcement agents
raided a Lower East Side
apartment building early
on May 15, arresting three men
and seizing stashes of guns and
drugs, police reported.
Anthony Lopez, 29, of West
143rd Street in Manhattan,
Gregory Bell, 23, of White Plains
Road in the Bronx and Kaylin
Quidone, 18, of Jackson Street on
the Lower East Side were cuffed
during the 3 a.m. raid on May 15
at an apartment building on 70
Pitt St.
Authorities said members of
per 100,000 people, with 305.09.
The area registered 507 total
COVID-19 cases, of which 63
resulted in fatalities.
Further north, the Washington
Heights-Inwood ZIP code
area of 10031 tallied the highest
percentage of positive tests for
COVID-19, with 36.08%. The
community had 1,224 positive
cases — the fourth-highest total
in Manhattan — and 112 deaths.
The only downtown neighborhood
in the top 10 of Manhattan
COVID-19 cases was the Union
Square-Lower East Side ZIP
code of 10002. The area had 975
confi rmed COVID-19 cases, of
which 138 resulted in death.
Meanwhile, further south in
Manhattan, the COVID-19 pandemic
has not been as devastating.
Nine of the ten Manhattan ZIP
codes with the fewest number
of COVID-19 cases are located
downtown, the majority of which
are centered around Lower
Manhattan.
The 10006 ZIP code around
the Financial District and the
World Trade Center had just 23
confi rmed COVID-19 cases and
zero deaths — the fewest in both
categories for the borough.
The nearby Lower Manhattan
ZIP code of 10280 in Battery Park
City had the third-fewest coronavirus
cases with 43, but the lowest
case average per 100,000 people,
with 447.05.
Cash, drugs and ammunition seized during a raid on the Lower East Side on May 15, 2020.
the NYPD Field Intelligence Unit
executed a search warrant at the
Tribeca and Lower Manhattan
areas within the 10007 ZIP
code had the lowest percentage of
individuals who tested positive for
COVID-19, with 16.18%. The area
had 50 cases and three deaths.
The great disparities between
north and south in Manhattan
reflect the uneven impact of
COVID-19 upon the city, which
Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the city’s
health commissioner, alluded to
in announcing the new data on
Monday.
For example, more people of
color live in the East Harlem ZIP
location pursuant to an ongoing
investigation.
code of 10029, the hardest hit by
the COVID-19 pandemic in Manhattan,
than in the Downtown
ZIP code of 10006, where more
than two-thirds of the population
is white.
The total population between
both areas is starkly different —
3,011 people live in the 10006
ZIP code, and the population
density there is 32,796 people per
squire mile. The 10029 ZIP code
has 76,003 residents and 92,116
people per square mile.
Yet the 10006 ZIP code
median income is $119,274, as
PHOTO VIA TWITTER/@NYPD9PCT
During the search, cops found
inside the apartment unspecifi ed
opposed to the 10029 ZIP code
with its median income of just
$31,888.
In recent weeks, the city has
launched a number of programs
aimed at closing the health gap
in low-income areas and communities
of color — including
opening additional test sites and
expanding mask, glove and PPE
distribution.
“It’s really heartbreaking and it
should tug at the moral conscience
of the city,” said City Councilman
Mark Levine, who chairs the City
Council’s Health committee,
during a Reuters interview. “We
knew we had dramatic inequality.
This, in graphic form, shows it’s
even greater than maybe many of
us feared.”
City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez,
who represents northern
Manhattan areas hardest
hit by the COVID-19 crisis,
echoed similar calls Monday for
greater action to help black and
Latino New Yorkers during the
pandemic.
“Black, Latino, and Asian New
Yorkers have been impacted the
hardest by this virus and it is our
responsibility to ensure that they
are receiving the support and help
they need during these challenging
times,” Rodriguez said.
Find more data about COVID
19 in New York City by
visiting www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/
covid/covid-19-data.page.
quantities of substances believed
to be cocaine and heroin, as well
as $9,000 in cash and assorted
ammunition.
The 9th Precinct showed
off the proceeds of the raid
on its Twitter account Friday
afternoon.
Police sources declined to
identify the “violent criminal”
mentioned in the tweet.
Lopez, Bell and Quidone face
charges of criminal possession
of a controlled substance, criminal
possession of a weapon,
tampering with physical evidence
and criminal possession
of a weapon.
Schneps Media May 21, 2020 3
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