Corona councilmember calls for emergency funeral fund

Councilmember Francisco Moya called for the creation of an emergency funeral fund on Sunday. Photo by John McCarten/City Council

By Victoria Merlino

The Queens councilmember representing the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis has called for the creation of an emergency funeral fund following reports that some constituents cannot afford to bury their dead loved ones. 

Councilmember Francisco Moya called for the creation of the fund on Sunday in a joint statement with Council Speaker Corey Johnson. Moya represents Corona and East Elmhurst, two neighborhoods that are among the regions hardest hit by the coronavirus in the entire world

“Nobody is immune to this disease but low-income New Yorkers, particularly undocumented immigrants, are the most vulnerable and disproportionately affected,” Moya said. “One of the most devastating calls I’m regularly getting is from people who can’t afford to bury their loved ones and aren’t eligible for any assistance.”

“That’s simply not acceptable — not when our mantra from the start has been ‘We’re all in this together,’” he added.

Queens has the most cases of COVID-19 of any borough in the city, accounting for almost a third of the roughly 107,000 citywide cases.