
Albany, NY — The Arbeeny family and the Empire Center are celebrating a year of partnership in remembrance of Norman Arbeeny, who passed away two years ago today after contracting COVID-19 in a Brooklyn nursing home.
In memorial of Norman, and in effort to bring more transparency to state government, the Arbeeny family made a generous donation to support the Empire Center’s work.
“We miss our Dad every day, but we are confident that the Empire Center—and the work they do to promote responsible, accountable government—is honoring his legacy,” said Peter Arbeeny, Norman’s son. “New Yorkers must come together to demand better from our government. It’s unacceptable that two years later our Dad is still not counted among those nursing home residents who passed away from COVID-19.”
The Empire Center is committed to providing New Yorkers with a fuller picture of their government’s pandemic response. Chief among the revelations was the Cuomo Administration’s attempts to cover up nursing home mortality data. Early last year, a state Supreme Court judge ordered the Department of Health to disclose full records of COVID-related nursing home deaths in response to an Empire Center lawsuit for the information.
“It is vitally important for New Yorkers to have access to government information, especially COVID data, to both learn from the response to this pandemic and to better prepare for the next,” said Tim Hoefer, president and CEO of the Empire Center. “We are committed to keeping state government accountable and honest—and it’s thanks to the Arbeeny family and so many others that we can continue this work on behalf of all New Yorkers.”
The Arbeeny Family’s generous donation has supported the Empire Center’s ongoing efforts to promote government transparency and accountability.