About 650 dead bodies from the spring COVID-19 wave in New York City are rotting in giant freezer trucks on the 39th Pier on the Brooklyn waterfront, notes Reuters.
The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner says the bodies remain in the trucks at taxpayer expense because the bodies are from families who can’t be located or afford a proper burial, reports The Wall Street Journal
New York City increased its burial assistance to $1,700 in May, but the average cost of a traditional service with burial is $9,000 and while a cremation with a service costs about $6,500, according to the New York State Funeral Directors Association.
Dina Maniotis, the chief medical examiner’s office’s executive deputy commissioner, said many families do not know they have a right to request a free burial on Hart Island.
