Online Vigil Honors Brooklyn Principal Who Died Of Coronavirus

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — The very thing that took the life of a beloved Brownsville principal will prevent her community from physically gathering together in mourning.

But the new coronavirus won't stop fellow educators, students and community from going online to honor the life of Dez-Ann Romain — the first known New York City public school official to die from the virus.

An online candlelight vigil is planned Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Zoom. It will honor Romain, 36, who died from coronavirus complications, Chalkbeat reported.

Romain headed Brownsville’s Brooklyn Democracy Academy, a transfer school for students who struggled at traditional high schools, according to Chalkbeat.

She began to feel ill last week and was eventually hospitalized for pneumonia, the New York Times reported. Her death came amid a rising number of deaths across the city — 192, as of Tuesday — and followed school closures.

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The vigil is organized by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators.

It can be watched here.

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