Slaves May Be Buried Beneath Site Of New Gowanus School: NYT

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — Slaves may be buried beneath the site of a new school in Gowanus, near the corner of Third Avenue and Ninth Street, a new report from The New York Times suggests.

The Times cites writing in a 19th-century diary by a man who used to own the land, Adriance Van Brunt, that is kept in a temperature-controlled room at the New York Public Library.

In the diary, Van Brunt writes about the death of a 12-year-old girl named "Nancy" who died in late September of 1828, according to the Times.

The diary's contents were sent to the Times by Kevan Cleary, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York, who was conducting a title search on the property, the Times reports.

Read the full story from The New York Times here.

The city is planning a 180-seat pre-school on the lot, which runs from Eighth to Ninth Street along Third Avenue. The city's School Construction Authority hoped to open it in 2018, according to DNAinfo.

The plot of land has also been linked to the Battle of Brooklyn, in which 400 soldiers from Maryland are said to have held of British forces.

Some Revolutionary War scholars, along with actor Sir Patrick Stewart, have called for careful examination of the site because it could contain a mass grave of those Maryland soldiers.

The Times reported that state’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is reviewing the site, and a preliminary dig by an outside firm found no human remains. The state is requesting more information from the firm, ARKF, before deciding whether to proceed with the site, according to the Times.

Image via Google Streetview