Fed cash for funerals of COVID vics

New Yorkers who lost loved ones to COVID-19 will soon be able to collect upward of $9,000 from the federal government to cover funeral expenses and other costs associated with the coronavirus death of a relative, a couple of Democratic lawmakers announced Thursday.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who have lobbied for the creation of a funeral cost reimbursement program for months, said they’d gotten word that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will launch the initiative on April 12.

Once the program is underway, applicants should call (844) 6846333, a new FEMA hotline, and be ready to provide a death certificate for the relative who died, along with receipts for incurred expenses, Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez said.

“Too many families and friends across New York have paid the ultimate price with the tragic loss of their loved ones to the coronavirus,” said Schumer, the Senate’s majority leader. “This historic use of FEMA’s funeral assistance program is much-needed aid to those who need it most.”

Ocasio-Cortez credited community leaders in her Queens and Bronx-spanning congressional district with flagging the “disparate impact of COVID-19 in working-class areas, compounded with the devastating economic impact of funeral expenses.”

The FEMA funeral expense program frees up a total of $260 million for New Yorkers. There are no income restrictions on the aid, so relatives of any of the nearly 50,000 New Yorkers killed by COVID-19 can apply.

Eligible expenses include the cost of burials, cremations, transportation, caskets or urns, headstones, clergy services, arrangement of funeral ceremonies and production of death certificates, among other categories.