Cops break up Brooklyn funeral for coronavirus victim as mourners ignore social distancing
A man speaks as hundreds of members of the Orthodox Jewish community attend the funeral for a rabbi who died from the coronavirus in the Borough Park neighborhood which has seen an upsurge of (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic on April 05, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Police were forced to break up a Brooklyn funeral on Sunday after dozens of mourners gathered in violation of the state’s social distancing rules.
Video of an NYPD squad car attempting to disperse the large crowd on 55th St. and 12th Ave. in Borough Park made the rounds on social media.
- The NYPD attempting to disperse a funeral in Boro Park.
The funeral was held for Rav Yosef Kalish, 63, an Amshinover rebbe who was hospitalized with COVID-19 last week and died Sunday morning.
Kalish, a prominent rabbi who ran a shul in Borough Park, is a descendant of the founder of a Hasidic dynasty dating back to the 1800s, whose father was one of a line of disciples of the founder of Hasidism.
Once police arrived at the scene, the crowd dispersed, authorities said.
An NYPD spokesman couldn’t immediately say if any summons or fines were issued for violating social distancing guidelines.
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 05: Women wear face masks as they join hundreds of members of the Orthodox Jewish community attending the funeral for a rabbi who died from the coronavirus in the Borough Park neighborhood which has seen an upsurge of (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic on April 05, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Hospitals in New York City, which has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, are facing shortages of beds, ventilators and protective equipment for medical staff. Currently, over 122,000 New Yorkers have tested positive for coronavirus. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The video shared on social media shows some attendees wearing surgical masks, but many without them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week concluded that all people in the U.S. should wear “a basic cloth or fabric mask" whenever they go outside.
On Wednesday, a video of scores of Orthodox Jewish men carrying a wooden coffin past the corner of Avenue N and E. 9th St. in Midwood prompted outrage on social media. The mourners were gathered for the funeral of a 101-year-old rabbi who held services at a synagogue near the corner.
Kalish is survived by his two sons and three daughters.
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