Hundreds of motorcycle riders held a mass funeral procession in Queens, New York, on Friday despite social distancing rules put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus which has hit the borough the hardest.
Video shows two New York Police Department officers directing traffic outside the Leahy McDonald Funeral home in the Jamaica section of Queens at around 10:30am on Friday.
The Sergeants Benevolent Association, a police union representing 13,000 active and retired NYPD sergeants, posted video of the procession and blasted Mayor Bill de Blasio for allowing ‘more lunacy.’
The SBA tweeted: ‘400 plus bikers gathering crowds in 102 PCT heading to funeral.
A large funeral procession was seen in Queens, New York, on Friday morning
Some 400 motorbikes roared past a funeral home on Atlantic Avenue in the Jamaica section of Queens
The NYPD said that no arrests were made and no summonses were issued
The funeral home declined comment when asked to provide details about the procession
‘NYPD having to call a level 1 mobilization… Only in DeBlasio’s city, during a pandemic.’
Two officers directed traffic and several other officers were seen outside the Leahy McDonald funeral home on Atlantic Avenue as the procession drove by.
DailyMail.com reached out to the funeral home for comment. An employee at the funeral declined to provide details about the funeral.
The bikers’ procession was headed toward the All Souls Chapel and Crematory in East Elmhurst, according to the SBA.
An employee at All Souls reached by DailyMail.com on Saturday declined to provide details.
Several social media posts from Instagram showed video and images from the funeral procession which turned out to be for a man known as ‘Nene.’
A search on social media revealed that Nene’s real name is George Luna, Jr, 45, of East New York, Brooklyn.
One video posted to social media showed a motorcycle with a hearse attached to it from the rear.
Another video posted to Instagram shows the rapper DMX paying tribute to Luna.
‘We lost one of our soldiers,’ the rapper said in the video.
A GoFundMe account was started earlier this week by Annamaria Torres of Brentwood, New York.
Though the account was deactivated, a cached version showed the crowdfunding page included the message: ‘Today, after a long and strong fight we lost our beloved Nene.
The above image shows a hearse attached to a motorbike which was at the front of the procession in Queens on Friday
The hearse is seen above in Queens on Friday, though it appears the coffin is no longer there
The image above shows the procession as it made its way toward Queens from Long Island
‘Nene was an amazing Son, Brother, Father, Uncle and Bikelife brother to many.
‘He wasn’t just my older brother but more like a father to me, my niece’s and nephews.
‘He had a genuine heart and was always humble even through the hard times.
‘Despite everything going on around us we are restricted to a viewing of only 1 hour for 1 day.
‘We are aware that most of our friends and family have fallen on tough times and any donation would be greatly appreciated.
‘The family would like to thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers and help during this extremely difficult time and most of all assisting us in giving Nene the “Bike life OG” the homegoing he deserves.’
An NYPD spokesperson told WPIX-TV that the department was notified the night before about the procession but it was not told how many people would attend.
Several of the motorists were seen popping wheelies on their bikes and ATVs
The funeral procession was held despite social distancing rules announced by the government during the coronavirus pandemic
No arrests were made and no summonses were issued, the NYPD said.
Queens has emerged as the borough that has been most impacted by the spread of the coronavirus.
As of Saturday, health officials said that at least 18,823 people living in Queens have contracted coronavirus – nearly a third of total cases in the city.
New York City had 63,306 cases – nearly a quarter of the confirmed cases nationwide.
The city’s death toll as of Saturday stood at 1,867. On Friday alone, 305 people died, according to officials.
The funeral was held for 45-year-old George Luna Jr of East New York, Brooklyn, who was known on social media as ‘Nene,’ though it was unclear how he died
Mourners online indicated that he was part of a motorbike club
A GoFundMe page raised some $11,000 for funeral arrangements
Meanwhile, New York State’s death toll was rapidly rising. Thus far, nearly 3,600 residents of the state have died of coronavirus.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday that more than 600 people died over a 24-hour period.
On Friday, state officials reported more than 10,000 positive tests in one day, a record.
In total, there were near 114,000 confirmed cases in New York State as of early Saturday morning, up from 92,381 on Thursday.
Government officials have pleaded with the public to maintain social distancing as a way to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has resulted in local hospitals being overwhelmed by patients.
In recent days, video clips and pictures of large crowds gathered in various places in New York City have circulated online, igniting outrage.
On Friday, images showing crowded New York City subway cars were making the rounds on social media.
The No. 2 train, which is said to have been photographed around evening rush-hour at 6 p.m. by a member of Progressive Action, a group of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) workers, is shown full of mask-wearing passengers crammed together unable to avoid close contact with others.
A picture from Progressive Action’s Twitter account of the New York Subway showed the No 2 train packed on Thursday evening despite a city-wide lockdown in place to slow the coronavirus spreading
People push themselves against the railings to watch the USNS Comfort arriving in New York on Monday
New York City is currently under a full stay-at-home lockdown, but key workers such as healthcare workers still have to travel in order to fulfill their vital roles in the battle with coronavirus, while poorer workers unable to leave their jobs still take the risk.
However, this is leading to scenes such as this where a number of people who have potentially been exposed to the virus are packed into subway cars to get to work, increasing the risk of infection from the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, dozens of Orthodox Jewish mourners wearing surgical masks held a funeral on a Brooklyn street corner for a 96-year-old rabbi in violation of the city’s social distancing orders.
Video circulating on social media on Thursday shows the men carrying a wooden coffin near Avenue N and East 9th Street in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn on Wednesday morning.
Several of the men in the funeral procession could be seen not wearing any facial covering.
The NYPD told the Post on Thursday that it received ‘no notifications’ about the presence of a large crowd.
By the time the police learned of the incident, the crowd was dispersed, the department said.
A funeral procession attended by scores of Orthodox Jewish men is seen above near the corner of Avenue N and East 9th Street in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn on Wednesday morning
The pallbearers are seen above carrying a wooden coffin of a 96-year-old rabbi
No arrests or summonses were issued.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier this week that those who defy social distancing orders could potentially be fined up to $500.
On Monday, crowds gathered to watch the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds for patients, arriving in New York City to alleviate the strain on the city’s hospitals as it continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic – despite being warned to stay at home.
The ship arrived at New York Harbor on Monday morning.
It will welcome patients who do not have coronavirus but who still need care in order to clear out the city’s other hospitals for those who have tested positive for COVID-19.
The USNS Comfort came to New York City after 9/11 to help care for some of the thousands wounded.
That was also the last time the city saw as many makeshift morgues in the street to cope with the death toll of the virus.
On Monday, crowds gathered near Pier 90 to watch the Comfort arrive.