The city has increased its burial assistance and expanded the program to include undocumented
immigrants so they can provide proper burials for loved ones. Reuters/Lukas Jackson
TIMESLEDGER | 2 QNS.COM | MAY 15-21, 2020
BY BILL PARRY
The city opened a free
community antibody testing
facility in Long Island
City Monday.
The site, located at 34-09
Queens Blvd., will administer
the tests to 1,000 people
per day, by appointment
only.
“So many New Yorkers
are wondering whether
they’ve had the virus, or if
they’ve exposed their own
families,” Mayor Bill de
Blasio said. “While antibody
tests are not a fix-all
solution, they will give our
communities the knowledge
they need to help us defeat
this virus together.”
The city has opened one
location in each of the five
boroughs, including the
Long Island City facility,
with more locations set to
open in June.
Antibody testing results
will be available in 24 to 48
hours.
The city is partnering
with BioReference Labs to
test approximately 70,000
New Yorkers over two
weeks. Capacity is expected
to build to 5,000 tests per
day.
“BioReference is supporting
the city in its epidemiology
studies of the presence
of COVID-19 throughout
large segments of the New
York City population,” said
BioReference Laboratories
Executive Chairman Jon
Cohen, M.D. “For New York
City, a city that has been
seriously impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic, this
type of information will be
of great value in helping
healthcare professionals to
analyze the presence and
progression of the disease
in order to identify at-risk
populations for possible
early interventions.”
The test looks for the
presence of antibodies in
the blood of a specific protein
created when the body
responds to infection.
The mayor said the more
information the city can
collect about who has been
infected, the more it can
learn and respond to the ongoing
crisis.
“We’re really killing two
birds with one stone,” de
Blasio said. “The individual
gets something they need,
but the healthcare leadership,
the scientists, they get
the information they need
to do the research better to
answer the questions about
the disease.”
You can make an appointment
by calling 888-279-0967
or by visiting the BioReference
website here.
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
BY BILL PARRY
He has watched as the
COVID-19 pandemic ravaged
his district especially in Corona,
where he is a lifelong
resident. Since his neighborhood
was the epicenter
of the onslaught since early
April, Councilman Francisco
Moya has been calling on the
city to help low-income and
immigrant families whose
loved ones have died from
the coronavirus make death
arrangements.
So, Moya was grateful when
the de Blasio administration
increased burial assistance
and expanded the program to
undocumented immigrants.
The NYC Human Resources
Administration raised burial
assistance from $900 to $1,700
and removed the requirement
for the applicant to provide
Social Security numbers for
themselves and the deceased,
a rule that had effectively
barred undocumented immigrants
from eligibility.
“No community has been
spared by the COVID-19 crisis
but for undocumented immigrants,
the disease has been
particularly cruel,” Moya said.
“Not only were undocumented
New Yorkers denied being
among loved ones in their final
moments but they were also denied
a dignified burial among
them as well, whether in their
adopted country or their native
one. That’s just not acceptable
in a city built by immigrants.
I thank Mayor de Blasio for
making these funds available
to undocumented New Yorkers
and Speaker Corey Johnson for
standing with me in support of
providing families with emergency
burial assistance.”
Johnson added that he was
glad that the mayor agreed
and moved forward with a
“humane plan” that will assist
more New Yorkers in
need.
“The coronavirus pandemic
has disproportionately
hit our immigrant communities,”
Johnson said.
“Making funds available for
undocumented immigrants
to have proper burials and
also increasing the amount
of assistance for HRA’s program
is the compassionate
thing to do. For many New
Yorkers, the cost of burying
or cremating a loved one can
be out of reach. They deserve
better which is why Council
member Moya and I called
for emergency aid to help
New Yorkers pay for final
resting arrangements for
their loved ones, regardless
of immigration status.”
For more information on
the HRA’s burial assistance
program, visit its website
here.
“New York City is once
again demonstrating what
justice and equity look like
as it expands eligibility for
the HRA’s burial assistance
program to all low-income
New Yorkers, regardless of
immigration status, and increasing
the reimbursement
limit,” Moya said. “This step
is crucial to addressing the
systemic inequalities this
disease has brought to the
forefront.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4538.
Photo via Getty Images
City opens COVID-19
antibody testing site
in Long Island City
Moya grateful that city burial
assistance program will include
undocumented immigrants
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