City Opens Brooklyn Walk-In Coronavirus Test Site

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A long-promised Brooklyn coronavirus walk-in test site opened on Friday, said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The site at Gotham Health in East New York, along with four others opening across other boroughs, aim to serve low-income communities of color particularly vulnerable to the virus, de Blasio said.

"Now, we're focusing on the groups of people in this city who have been hardest hit by this disease and they're very, very pinpointed way," he said Friday.

New Yorkers eligible for testing are people over 65 with preexisting conditions, 1191 SEIU frontline workers, essential workers and other vulnerable populations such as those in adult care or work with people with disabilities, according to the city.

De Blasio said people can call 311 to get access to tests at the five locations.

"There will be initially 2,400 tests per week across those sites, but that's going to ramp up quickly," he said. "I want to see that number double quickly."

Gotham Health is part of New York City's public Health + Hospitals system. Other sites opening Friday are Gotham Health Morrisania in the Bronx and Vanderbilt Health Center Clifton in Staten Island.

Sites opening Monday in Manhattan and Queens, respectively, are Sydenham Family Health Center in Harlem and Queens Hospital in Jamaica.

Some Brooklyn officials recently criticized the city for relying on mostly drive-through testing sites.

The Gotham Health East New York hospital is at Pitkin and Pennsylvania avenues.

A state-run walk-in clinic also opened in Brownsville at the Multi-Service Family Health Center along Rockaway and Blake avenues.

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