Brooklyn neighborhood comes together to bury a stranger
NEW YORK (AP) — The request, posted on an online neighborhood forum by a Brooklyn funeral director, was simple but heartfelt. A 91-year-old woman had died from the coronavirus. Her family was scattered in other states. Would anyone like to contribute items for her funeral, like flowers?
This wasn’t a funeral for anyone who lived in the neighborhood, Brooklyn’s Prospect Leffert Gardens section, or for anyone that neighbors knew. It was for a complete stranger who died at a Manhattan assisted living facility.
Yet within minutes, people began to respond. One resident, Rebecca Benghiat, embroidered the word “Mom” onto a fabric nameplate that went onto the eco-friendly felt casket.