MISSING THEM

Methodology

THE CITY, Columbia Journalism School’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Columbia Journalism Investigations and The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York are attempting to gather lists and memorialize every New York City death due to COVID-19.

Publicly identified deaths due to complications of the novel coronavirus have been included here from the following sources:

• Contributions from victims’ families and confirmed by an immediate family member or next of kin

• Staff reports from news organizations, including The New York Times (“Those We’ve Lost to the Coronavirus”), New York 1/Spectrum News ("Lives Lost"), New York Post, New York Daily News, Patch and others

• Paid obituaries from Legacy.com and local news publications

• Verified posts from victims’ families on social-media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, which have been aggregated by @FacesOfCOVID and @covid19rip1

• Announcements from victims’ private and public-sector employers and unions, such as the United Federation of Teachers and the New York City Central Labor Council

• Official releases from city and state agencies, including the New York City Police Department, the Fire Department of New York and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Individuals are only included in the memorial after researchers have confirmed their death with a third party, such as a news organization or city agency, and directly attributed the cause as COVID-19-related. The verification process checks some victim details, such as last known address and age, using New York City voter registration data and other sources. Other details, such as the date of a victim’s death and underlying health conditions, are typically provided by the family and have not been independently confirmed.

Occupational Data

Our occupational data is verified by third-party sources or by submissions by next of kin. Occupational categorizations are not always independently confirmed. The data includes retirees who were previously employed in their listed jobs. Employees who qualified for more than one of the 12 occupational categories listed were placed in each category that matched their previous job. Several employees were placed in more than one category. Below is a list of occupational categories and what is included in each grouping:

• NYPD: Employees of the department, including officers and sergeants, office assistants and communications staff;

• Fire Department: Employees of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), including firefighters and emergency medical technicians, as well as support staff;

• Housing Authority: Employees of NYCHA and the NYC Housing Authority;

• Transportation Workers: Employees who work for New York City public transit, including MTA, New York City Transit Authority and NYC Department of Transportation workers, but excluding school bus drivers;

• K-12 Education: Employees at public and private K-12 schools, including teachers, counselors, school bus drivers, and support staff;

• Higher Education: Employees at private and public New York City colleges and universities,  including professors, counselors, and support staff;

• Municipal Services: Employees of municipal New York City agencies, including the Parks Department, the Department of Sanitation, New York City Municipal Services, and New York City Human Resources, but excluding first responders;

• Correctional Workers: Employees at public or privately-contracted correctional facilities;

• Nurses: Nurses, including administrative nurses, emergency room nurses, psychiatric nurses, professors of nursing, and homecare nurses affiliated with private and public healthcare employers in New York City;

• Doctors: Physicians employed at private and public healthcare facilities in New York City;

• Healthcare Workers: Nurses, doctors and all support staff employed by private and public healthcare providers in New York City

Editing by Anjali Tsui, Derek Kravitz, Terry Parris Jr. and Dean Russell. Design and development by Will Welch.