NEW YORK - The number of COVID cases in some parts of Brooklyn continue to increase, so those in line for testing at Coney Island Hospital said they are on alert.

“We try just to stay safe, that’s it, and the useful recommendations that the city and everybody [is] doing," said Vladimir Vattel.

Neighborhoods near the hospital have significantly higher rates of positive coronavirus tests than the rest of the city.

What You Need To Know

  • In the zip code covering Gravesend and Homecrest Brooklyn, the seven-day average of positive tests climbed to 11.73 percent on Thursday

  • a City Councilman is pushing the city to add additional testing sites

  • Lack of diverse marketing could be a cause, he says

 In the zip code covering Gravesend and Homecrest Brooklyn, the seven day average of positive tests climbed to 11.73 percent on Thursday, compared to the citywide average of 5.19 percent.

In Breezy Point, Queens, the average reached 11.78 percent.

City Councilman Mark Treyger, whose district includes Gravesend, is pushing the city to add additional testing sites in Southern Brooklyn.

"This is far from over, far from over, we're actually in a very dangerous period right now," he said.

86-year-old Henrietta Parker is also getting tested Thursday, but said the city needs to do a better marketing job.

“I don’t think they advertise the testing locations enough. That’s a problem there,” she said.

It is actually a problem Treyger thinks could be causing the numbers to spike in these particular neighborhoods.

"Some of these communities that are the most diverse, where English is not the first language, in many cases, are really the last to get critical information," he explained.

In response to these concerns, health officials said they are working with Treyger's office to set up new testing sites by next week.

And they add, all the publicity for testing sites has been translated into 14 languages.