The Brooklyn funeral home found to have stacked dozens of bodies in an unrefrigerated U-Haul trucks had its license suspended by state health officials following the grisly discovery made on Wednesday.
The Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in Flatlands has been barred from providing funeral services after the State Health Department ordered the "immediate" suspension, reported the NY Post.
In a statement provided to Gothamist, state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker—whose agency regulates funeral homes—said that the decision was made following an investigation. He characterized the actions by the funeral home as "appalling, disrespectful to the families of the deceased, and completely unacceptable."
“Funeral homes have a responsibility to manage their capacity appropriately and provide services in a respectful and competent manner. We understand the burden funeral homes are facing during this unprecedented time," said Zucker in his statement. "That’s why the state previously issued an order allowing out of state funeral home directors to assist during this crisis and took steps to ease administrative hurdles."
State health law dictates that the agency can pull a license of a funeral home if the parlor is known to be "incompetent to engage in the business or practice of funeral director, undertaking, or embalming."
Workers move bodies to a refrigerated truck from the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home.
The agency did not answer questions on what will happen to the remainder of the bodies serviced at the funeral home or when the funeral home's license might be reinstated.
The death care system has been rocked over the last few weeks following the COVID-19 outbreak that's resulted in 12,571 deaths with Brooklyn witnessing 3,768 deaths from the virus.
"But a crisis is no excuse for the kind of behavior we witnessed at Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home, and we are holding them accountable for their actions,” Zucker said in his statement.
There were reportedly 50 corpses found inside the trucks at lukewarm temperatures on Wednesday afternoon by NYPD following a 911 call, according to a police spokesperson.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams had personally stopped by the scene, describing "either blood or body fluids" seeping out of the U-Haul truck. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was asked about the discovery on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, called the news "unconscionable," adding that the funeral home should have asked for help.
A person answering the phone at the funeral home declined to comment.
