Coronavirus' Toll On Crown, Prospect Heights: 1 Year Later

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — The day the first coronavirus case in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020 may seem like another lifetime, but it was only a year ago as of Monday.

The anniversary of the first COVID-19 case provides a chance to reflect on the scope of the virus' toll in New York City, and in its neighborhoods.

Though the coronavirus likely arrived in New York in early February, the first person known to test positive for the virus in New York City was confirmed on March 1 in a 39-year-old health care worker who returned from a trip to Iran.

Not long after, New York City marked another grim milestone with the first coronavirus death, an 82-year-old woman with emphysema, on March 14.

A year later, Mayor Bill de Blasio has said it will become an annual "Day of Remembrance" for New Yorkers lost to the virus. New York City has lost more than 29,000 people since the pandemic began.

As with many areas across the five boroughs, racial and economic inequity in New York City was laid bare by the way the virus hit certain neighborhoods. In Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, some areas were hard-hit while others made it through less scathed.

In the five ZIP codes that include a portion of Crown and Prospect Heights, there have been nearly 18,000 cases of the virus in the last year.

Here's a look at the numbers for each ZIP code:

11213

• Number of cases: 3,928
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 6,080
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 266
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 12%

11225

• Number of cases: 2,988
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 5,195
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 283
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 10%

11216

• Number of cases: 2,337
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 4,336
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 168
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 8%

11238

• Number of cases: 2,318
• Cases per 100,000 residents: 4,329
• Deaths per 100,000 residents: 222
• Percent of residents tested who tested positive: 7%

Of course, numbers only tell part of the story.

Read more about how Central Brooklyn urged unity, did their best to fight through, mourned local heroes, fought for information about neighbors in public housing and struggled through a second wave in these links.