NYC funeral homes struggle as virus deaths mount

Pat Marmo walked among the 20 or so deceased being held in the basement of his Brooklyn funeral home, his protective mask pulled down so his pleas could be heard.

Like many funeral homes in New York and around the globe, Marmo's business is in crisis. His office phone and two mobiles are ringing constantly.

He's apologizing to families at the start of every conversation for being unusually terse and insensitive, and begging them to insist hospitals hold their loved ones as long as possible.

His company is equipped to handle 40-60 cases at a time, no problem. His roster as of Thursday morning numbered 185.

"Maybe the government can help me and figure out a way that we can accommodate families in a more timely manner in a more dignified way," he said.

Funeral directors across the city are taking unprecedented steps to address surging demand due to the novel coronavirus pandemic that has killed at least 50,000 worldwide and infected at least 980,000.

Hospitals are inundated and trying to offload bodies to funeral homes, and cemeteries and crematoriums are booked for a week at least.

Funeral homes have become the squeezing point in the middle.

Marmo has about 20 embalmed bodies stored in the basement of his Daniel J. Schaefer home in Sunset Park and another dozen in his secondary chapel room, both chilled by air conditioners.

Hospitals in New York have been using refrigerated trailers to store bodies, and Marmo is trying to find his own.

One company quoted him a price of $6,000 per month, well beyond his budget, and he has nowhere obvious to put it, anyway. His hope right now is the police department across the street might let him use their driveway.