East New York’s St. Paul Community Church, nestled between NYCHA’s Linden Houses and Boulevard Houses, will reopen on Monday as a walk-in testing site for the community.
Rev. David Brawley, the church’s pastor, declined to say how many of his congregants have passed away from the illness, noting simply that the virus “has taken a toll on the community.”
St. Paul’s is among churches that pitched themselves as potential testing sites to the Cuomo administration, with help from Metro IAF.
“We knew we had space, so we asked ourselves, ‘What can we do to contribute this space and do our part in this fight?’” Brawley said. “I’m just delighted to know that the governor saw the validity of this plan and has been willing to strategize and partner with us.”