Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, Senator Jamaal T. Bailey and Assemblyman Michael Benedetto have secured a critical new COVID-19 mobile testing site for the Northeast Bronx.
“Our main strategy to slow the spread of this virus has been to increase testing and reduce density in every community across the state,” Governor Cuomo said. “The multiple drive-through mobile testing facilities we have created are helping keep people out of hospitals and other healthcare facilities where they could potentially infect other people or get sick themselves, while increasing our testing capacity. Co-Op City in the Bronx is home to a high number of vulnerable New Yorkers, and locating a new drive-through facility in this area will help protect those residents and give them a safer place to test for COVID-19.”
“We are facing an unprecedented public health crisis and it is imperative that we do all we can to protect the public,” said Speaker Heastie. Heastie acknowledged that many seniors reside there and they are among the most vulnerable to this terrible virus. The Assembly Speaker thanked Governor Cuomo for “his tireless efforts to help make this testing site a reality.”
The mobile testing center will be located in the parking lot of the Bay Plaza AMC Theater at 2210 Bartow Ave. The site will prioritize tests for individuals that are among the highest risk population.
Residents who would like to be tested must make an appointment by calling 888-364-3065. There will be no walk-ins allowed and all patients must be in a vehicle. The center became operational on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 10 am. Site hours will be Monday – Sunday, 8am – 6pm.
Senator Bailey said, “I am pleased to inform the community that Co-Op City will be getting a testing site starting Monday. As you all know Co-Op City is a unique community, full of individuals who may be at high risk from symptoms related to COVID-19.” Bailey noted that Co-op City’s senior citizen population is the nation’s largest Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) and that the cooperative is a densely populated area with well over 50,000 residents. He also thanked Governor Cuomo, Speaker Heastie, Assemblyman Bendetto and Prestige Properties for permitting the use of their space.
Assemblyman Benedetto said, “In these difficult times, Governor Cuomo has shown remarkable leadership and today we are seeing more of the same. The residents of the East Bronx needed a testing station and Bay Plaza is an ideal site for it.”
Co-op City is the largest cooperative development of its kind in the world and is home to thousands of families which include many seniors as well as a number of immunocompromised individuals. Over the past few weeks these populations have been found to be more susceptible to the COVID-19 virus.
The drive-thru testing site opened on Monday, March 30, 2020. The center’s hours will be Monday – Sunday, 8am – 6pm.
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