A Bronx development now ranks toward the top number of COVID-19 deaths within the city’s housing public system. 

This comes from new data from the city’s Department of Health. Since the pandemic, the tenant president says she has seen too many family losses due to COVID-19 in her Bronx River Houses development. 

The Bronx River Houses had 539 COVID-19 cases out of 2,875 tenants, according to published reports, which shows it was one of the highest rates within New York City’s Public Housing System. 

The Bronx development fared slightly better than both the Grant and Wagner Houses in Manhattan, which ranked at the top of the list where 33 tenants reportedly died from the coronavirus--according to data from March of 2020 to June of 2021. 

Even though it’s been almost a year, Norma Saunders says she still remembers the battle that the coronavirus put her through. Her son, with who she shares an apartment, also ended up getting the virus. She says she considers herself one of the lucky few. 

Longtime tenant Helen Pigatt also says she isn’t shocked that the virus continues to be a problem at NYCHA houses. 

She says the large population, aging tenants and underlying health conditions all contribute to the spread. 

With cases of the delta variant on the rise, Saunders says more tenants are choosing to get vaccinated to protect themselves against the more contagious strain. 

She says community groups are stepping in to offer more on-site vaccinations at NYCHA locations. 

Both Saunders and Pigatt agree that more needs to be done by the city to better educate NYCHA tenants about vaccines.