Dozens of caskets crammed in Queens funeral home overwhelmed by coronavirus
Stark new footage shows dozens of caskets crammed into a Queens funeral home — giving grim insight into the staggering death toll exacted by the coronavirus.
Almost every space in most rooms of the Gerard J. Neufeld funeral home in Elmhurst is completely filled with the dead — with funeral director Omar Rodriguez counting 25 in one room alone, all awaiting cremation.
A small area usually reserved for viewing was crammed with at least 10 coffins, leaving barely enough room to walk inside.
Still, despite being overwhelmed, staff maintains a dignified send-off — a far cry from the treatment of bodies found Wednesday stored in unrefrigerated trucks outside Andrew Cleckley Funeral Services in Brooklyn.
The funeral home — just five blocks from the city’s COVID-19 hotspot at Elmhurst Hospital — went from an average of seven or eight bodies per week to more than 20 a day.
“I’ve had families call me telling me they can’t find anyone to take their loved one,” the home’s director, Joe Neufeld, previously told The Post.
They eventually had to scrap services because it was so overwhelmed by bodies filling every space.
“We had no choice,” said Neufeld. “I couldn’t bring people in because it could be dangerous.”