Briefing 5/4: Masks To Be Delivered In South Brooklyn, Green-Wood Cemetery Threatens To Close & More

Happy Monday! It’s beautiful outside (and was particularly beautiful over the weekend). If you absolutely must go outside, please wear a face covering and keep a six-foot distance. Here are the new numbers as of 1 p.m. this afternoon:

• There were 1,689 new positive confirmed coronavirus cases in NYC, bringing the total to 170,534 cases. In Brooklyn, there were 474 new confirmed cases, now with a total of 45,341.
• There were a total of 136 new hospitalizations in NYC, now with a total of 43,045 hospitalizations.
• There were 217 new confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in NYC, now with a total of 13,536 deaths, with 5,373 probable deaths. In Brooklyn, the number of deaths has gone up to 4,080.
• Rev. Jorge Ortiz-Garay, 49, a pastor at St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church in Bushwick, died from the coronavirus. “Father Jorge was a great priest, beloved by the Mexican people, and a tireless worker for all the faithful in Brooklyn and Queens,” the Daily News reported.
• Masks will now also be distributed in Southern Brooklyn, the Daily News reported. The City planned out 57 distribution sited to give out the masks but initially left out South Brooklyn. Local officials such as State Senator Andrew Gounardes call the Mayor out. “While a laudable effort, your plan leaves the entire southern half of Brooklyn without any place for residents to receive a face mask,” Gounardes had said.
• Green-Wood Cemetery threatens to close after people show bad behavior, the Post reported. “The conduct of a small percentage of our visitors has created an unacceptable situation. If things don’t change, we may be left with no choice but to close our gates as many other cemeteries have done,” the president of Green-Wood Cemetery said.
• According to The Intercept, the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn is destroying medical records “as part of a deliberate effort to obscure the number of incarcerated people infected with the coronavirus and to avoid providing them adequate care.”
• The bodies of two homeless men were found on two different New York City subway lines over the weekend, less than 12 hours apart, Pix11 reported.
• The NY Times profiled Al-Rayaan Muslim Funeral Services on Coney Island Avenue, who is conducting over 15 funerals a day. The photos are powerful.
• All registered voters can vote via the mail for the June 23rd federal, state & local primaries. This means if you’re a registered voter you’ll receive a Ballot Application in the mail. You can confirm your registration status online or call 1-866-VOTE-NYC. You must complete & mail back the postage-paid application to receive a mail ballot for the 6/23 election. If you need your ballot mailed to a different address, you can apply online, NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson Tweeted.
• Tenants demand rent cancelation for at least 4 months. “It has just been insane that Governor Cuomo… has not put a stop to this,” a tenant said at a virtual press conference held on Zoom on Friday. “It’s unfair to New Yorkers. We’re suffering. We have to either choose to feed our children or be homeless.”
• Greenpoint store Flying Squirrel closes its doors after 17 years, we reported last week.
• Healthcare workers at Coney Island Hospital were treated to 500 meals from Nick’s Lobster House, we reported.