Workers in hazmat outfits were seen using a ladder to descend into a huge pit where the coffins were stacked.
The location is Hart Island, used for New Yorkers with no next of kin or who could not afford a funeral.
New York state now has more coronavirus cases than any single country, according to latest figures.
The state's confirmed caseload of Covid-19 jumped by 10,000 on Thursday to 159,937, of whom 7,000 have died.
Spain has had 153,000 cases and Italy 143,000, while China, where the virus emerged last year, has reported 82,000 cases.
The US as a whole has recorded 462,000 cases and nearly 16,500 deaths. Globally there are 1.6 million cases and 95,000 deaths.
The drone footage comes from Hart Island, off the Bronx in Long Island Sound, which has been used for more than 150 years by city officials as a mass burial site for those with no next-of-kin, or families who cannot afford funerals.
It is probable that many of the coffins are for coronavirus victims, but it is not clear whether they fall into the above categories.
Burial operations at the site have ramped up amid the pandemic from one day a week to five days a week, according to the Department of Corrections.
Source : BBC News