By Robert Remler
A friend of Valley Stream wildlife, George Miller, who died Jan. 2 waiting for a bus outside Hendrickson Park, still waits for his final destination. His body lies unclaimed a month after he was pronounced dead at the Nassau County Medical Center.
The bureaucratic delay in burying Miller is agonizing to his friend, Florence Tannenbaum. They both shared a love for animals, and it was Miller's devotion to the waterfowl and wildlife of Hendrickson Park that earned him the nick name, the duck man.
"I will miss him and I do miss him terribly," said Tannenbaum.
It is very unusual for a body to remain uncliamed this long, according to Diane Markunas, an administrator at the medical center. Bodies go unclaimed for various reasons, she said. Sometimes families argue about whether to choose a burial or a cremation, which prevents release of the body. But, Miller's case is different from the norm.
His closest relatives live out of state and had not had contact with him for years, according to another employee at the medical center. "When they found out about his death, they didn't feel they were obligated to get involved."
In such cases, the medical center morgue contacts the Departments of Social Services and Public Administration for help in getting the deceased buried.
"We show them that we tried to contact family within a period of time that we feel is necessary," the employee said. "If there is family, we try to get the family to do something. If they don't, we document that and turn it over to one of those agencies."
But Miller was a Queens residdent, and so may be out of the bounds of Nassau's responsibility. Richard Kieran of the county Public Administrator's office said that Nassau had no jurisdiction in the matter because Miller lived in Springfield Gardens.
Had Miller been a Nassau County resident, he said, they would have determined if he was a recipient of social services. He said that when a county resident dies who is receiving assistance from the Department of Social Services, the case is systematically transferred to the department. Social Services then arranges burial with a local funeral director who seeks reimbursement through the state and federal government, he said.
"If it is somebody who dies who has no next of kin, has no resources and they are not already on medical assistance or Medicaid, then simply the matter is referred to this office," said Kieran. "An application is posthumously filed with the Department of Social Services," he said. In these cases, it takes "a day or two, possibly three" to file the application.
"I don't know what the disposition is other than someone reported it to us and we very quickly determined he was a Queens County resident and it was more appropriate that the matter be referred to Queens County Public Administrator," Kieran said.
The Queens County Public Administrator, who was familiar with Miller's case, said her agency was responsible for him. "There is no estate, no assets," said the Queens County employee. "There is nothing more I can tell you."
The Department of Social Services in Nassau County lists 250 George Miller's according to the Acting Supervisor in Resources and Recovery. Ms. Fishman, the supervisor, could not provide additional information about the man who died in Valley Stream. "Obviously, they are doing an investigation as to who is responsible for him," said Fishman.
Local funeral homes are contacted when a person dies without insurance or a bank account, said Fishman. The funeral home then contacts the Department of Social Services in the event that the deceased is on their role. Or, the funeral home contacts Calverton National Cemetery to determine if the deceased was a veteran, in which case the Federal Government pays funeral expenses.
Valley Stream's Moore Funeral Home was asked by Miller's local friends to assist in making arrangements. Donna Moore said this week that she was still waiting to hear from Calverton National Cemetery to learn if Miller qualified for a veteran's burial.
Donna Westermann, a program clerk at Calverton, said last week she was attempting to determine Miller's military status. "There's not a whole lot of information," she said. "Just a name and his date of birth. It is a common name, they are probably going to have a little trouble verifying it. But, they are working on it."
If information on the deceased can't be verified, then the case is again sent back to the family, according to Westermann. When verification of military service is confirmed, Calverton contacts the local funeral home. "We let them know that we verified it. Then a date and time is set up for burial," she said.
His friend, Florence Tannenbaum, suggested planting a tree in the park with a plaque in Miller's memory. "If he's cremated, maybe we could throw his ashes in the lake."
