NYC Kicks Off Mass Distribution of Free At-Home COVID Test Kits: Where to Pick One Up

The NYC Test & Trace Corps is distributing free at-home COVID-19 test kits to New Yorkers at 14 landmark City cultural sites and 27 branches of The New York Public Library, Queens Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library.

The weekly walk-up distributions of these kits kicked off Monday as an added measure to mitigate the ongoing pandemic. These tests will be given out on a first come, first serve basis.

“Our mission remains to make testing resources accessible for all New Yorkers to safely and confidently manage the pandemic,” Dr. Ted Long, Executive Director of the NYC Test & Trace Corps and Senior Vice President of Ambulatory Care and Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals, said in a statement.

“Distributing at-home tests at cultural sites and libraries provides familiar, prominent locations for people to pick up the resources they need to know if they have COVID-19 and to return to the beloved destinations that make our city so special," Long went on to say in his statement.

Test & Trace will update its testing website daily with the hours and pick up locations of cultural sites and library branches with tests available.

Participating cultural sites and library branches and their hours of distribution are:

CULTURAL SITES

BRONX

• Bronx Museum of the Arts: Tuesdays, 1 to 4 p.m.
• Wave Hill: Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

BROOKLYN

• Brooklyn Children’s Museum: Monday – Saturday, 12 to 4 p.m.
• Brooklyn Museum: Wednesday – Friday, 12 to 4 p.m.
• Weeksville Heritage Center: Tuesday – Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

MANHATTAN

• American Museum of Natural History: Wednesday – Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• El Museo del Barrio: Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• The Museum of the City of New York: Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

QUEENS

• Flushing Town Hall: Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 12 to 5 p.m,
• Queens Botanical Garden: Tuesday – Friday, 12 to 4 p.m.
• Queens Theatre: Tuesday – Friday, 12 to 4 p.m.

STATEN ISLAND

• Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden: Monday – Friday, 2 to 3 p.m.
• Staten Island Children's Museum: Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.
• Staten Island Zoo: Monday – Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

LIBRARIES

BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY

Tests can be picked up at the following libraries Tuesday and Thursday between 2 and 6 p.m., except at Central Library/Civic Commons:

• Brownsville Library
• Central Library/Civic Commons Mon and Wed 1 to 7 p.m. and Friday 1 to 5 p.m.
• Crown Heights Library
• Flatbush Library
• Mill Basin Library
• New Utrecht Library
• Red Hook Library

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY -- SERVING BRONX, MANHATTAN, AND STATEN ISLAND

Tests can be picked up at the following libraries Monday to Friday between 12 and 4 p.m.

• Bronx
  • Bronx Library Center
  • Parkchester Library
  • Sedgwick Library
  • West Farms Library

• Manhattan
  • Andrew Heiskell Library
  • Countee Cullen Library
  • Washington Heights Library
  • Seward Park Library

• Staten Island
  • Mariners Harbor Library
  • Richmondtown Library

QUEENS PUBLIC LIBRARY

Tests can be picked up at the following libraries Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday from 1 to 5 p.m., and Thursday from 12 to 7 p.m., except at Central Library. (Some branches, noted with a * below, offer additional pick-up hours Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

• Central Library Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 12 to 4 p.m. starting March 6
• Arverne Library*
• East Elmhurst Library*
• Far Rockaway Library
• Kew Gardens Hills Library* Additional pick-up Sunday 12 to 4 p.m. starting March 6
• Long Island City Library*
• McGoldrick Library
• Peninsula Library*
• Rego Park Library*
• Richmond Hill Library*