Cuomo And De Blasio Deny Plan For Burials In Parks

Syracuse.com reports:

A spokeswoman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is denying reports that New York City may begin temporarily burying coronavirus victims in city parks.

The New York Post reports NYC Councilman Mark Levine (D-Manhattan) said Monday that the city could start “temporary interment” in parks due to morgues and hospitals struggling to keep up with deaths from COVID-19.

De Blasio’s press secretary Freddi Goldstein said Monday afternoon that Levine was incorrect. “We are NOT currently planning to use local parks as burial grounds. We are exploring using Hart Island for temporary burials, if the need grows,” Goldstein responded to Levine on Twitter.

NYC’s potter’s field is on Hart Island.

.@NYGovCuomo calls suggestions that NYC would bury bodies in parks a “wild rumors.”

He will not support the burial of COVID-19 victims in parks. pic.twitter.com/CaNyP3cg85

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 6, 2020