A mass vaccination site opened on Thursday, March 4, at Bronx’s Co-Op City, the largest single residential development in the United States. The vaccination site is open to all eligible COVID-19 vaccination recipients, and reserved 200 vaccinations exclusively for residents on Thursday. The site will be open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The site, which is run by the New York City Department of Health, will administer approximately 500 vaccines each day to start, and eventually 1,000 shots per day when the program is fully ramped up, with continued vaccinations reserved for Co-Op City residents.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the City also kicked-off its new program to vaccinate homebound elderly people on Thursday, starting in Co-Op City. The program continued in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn on Friday, and will expand to other neighborhoods as the city receives more vaccine supplies.

Robert Klehammer is the executive general manager of Riverbay Corporation, which manages Co-Op City, and said the area’s 50,000 residents can now easily access a vaccine right in their backyard. “This is a big win for Co-Op City and its neighbors because it eliminates roadblocks and makes the vaccine easily accessible, especially for elderly and vulnerable homebound residents.”

The mayor, along with U.S. Congressman Jamaal Bowman, who represents the 16th congressional district, had announced on Tuesday, March 2, that a mass vaccination site would soon be opening in Co-op City, which has been devastated by the impacts of COVID-19 and has seen a below average vaccination rate.

At the time of the announcement, Bowman said the additional mass vaccination site in the Bronx signified progress and was a cause for celebration. “I am grateful that our office was able to work with our federal, state, and local partners to bring more vaccines to Co-op City residents and neighboring communities in the Northern Bronx,” he said. “In an area where one in four residents are elderly, and thousands live with a disability, we cannot accept a vaccine rollout that is less than expedient and equitable. We’re doing everything we can to bring more sites to our district in the near future.”

The previous Sunday, Bowman and U.S. senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, had sent a letter to President Joe Biden, calling on him to increase the number of vaccines available to residents of Co-op City, Edenwald, and Wakefield. According to a press release issued by Bowman’s office, one out of every 13 residents in the Co-op City/Edenwald/Wakefield area has been diagnosed with COVID-19 over the last year, and 411 people living in the area have lost their lives to the virus.

Meanwhile, according to the recent data from the New York City Department of Health, only 4 percent of Wakefield residents and 7 percent of Co-op City/Edenwald residents had received a vaccine, compared to 13 percent statewide.

About two weeks ago, Bowman also announced the opening of another mass vaccination center in Yonkers as part of an initiative to bring vaccines to underserved communities. The Yonkers site is now taking appointments and will vaccinate approximately 1,000 people per day.