COVID's Toll On The Upper East Side: More Than 200 Deaths

Nick Garber
Updated ·3 min read

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Compared to much of New York City, the Upper East Side has been somewhat spared by the coronavirus. But that is of little comfort to the loved ones of hundreds of Upper East Siders who lost their lives to COVID-19.

The end of 2020 provides a chance to reflect on the scope of the virus's toll in New York City, and on the Upper East Side. The coronavirus likely arrived in New York in early February, meaning it has been with us for all but one month of the year.

All told, 219 residents of the Upper East Side have died from COVID-19, according to the most recent data released Tuesday by the city. More than 5,000 positive cases have been confirmed across the neighborhood's five ZIP codes.

Those numbers, unthinkable at the start of the year, are lower than in many other parts of the city. Neighboring East Harlem has had death rates more than double those in some Upper East Side ZIP codes, while hard-hit Corona, Queens has reported 443 deaths in just one ZIP code.

The pandemic's impact here was felt early on, given the hospital corridor that runs along the Upper East Side. By late March, Mount Sinai Hospital began converting its public spaces into pods for coronavirus patients, as the city braced for a flood of new cases.

Around the same time, Mount Sinai began building a 68-bed hospital in Central Park to increase its capacity. It closed in May after treating more than 300 patients.

The white tents of the Samaritan's Purse field hospital stand in a field in Central Park across the street from Mt. Sinai Hospital on May 4, 2020 on the Upper East Side. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
The white tents of the Samaritan's Purse field hospital stand in a field in Central Park across the street from Mt. Sinai Hospital on May 4, 2020 on the Upper East Side. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

In April, a doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital recounted his own battle with COVID-19, which landed him in the same medical center where he treats patients for respiratory illnesses. Meanwhile, the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home on York Avenue emerged as one of the city's worst outbreaks, reporting 32 virus-related deaths among residents through late April. (As of this week, that number stood at 34, along with four suspected deaths from COVID-19.)

The rate of new infections slowed over the summer, and even during a citywide resurgence in recent months, the Upper East Side's case rates have continued to rank among the city's lowest.

Earlier this month, Community Board 8 held an online memorial program, in which neighborhood clergy from different faiths memorialized those who had been lost.

"Though we need to weep your loss, you dwell in that safe place in our hearts where no storm or night or pain can reach you," said Pastor Carol Fryer of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, reading from a blessing written by the Irish poet John O'Donohue.

"Though your days here were brief, your spirit was alive, awake, complete."

Correction: an earlier version of this article misstated the total number of positive cases on the Upper East Side.

This article originally appeared on the Upper East Side Patch