Community Corner
Graves Of 1M New Yorkers On Island Off The Bronx Could Soon Be More Accessible
Approximately a million New Yorkers were laid to rest on Hart Island because they had no money, no family or were never identified.
NEW YORK – The nation's largest burial ground that became the final resting place for a million New Yorkers who had no money, no family of were never identified is about to get more accessible.
Hart Island, which lies offshore from the Bronx and is only reachable by ferry, has for more than a century been controlled by the New York City Department of Correction. It can take months to schedule a visit, and people are subject to screenings and guard supervision.
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But on Thursday, the City Council voted to change that. Control of the island will be transferred to the Department of Parks and Recreation, making it more like a cemetery than a prison.
“It really is gratifying that New York City has agreed to transfer jurisdiction of Hart Island after 150 years of prison control,” Melinda Hunt, of the Hart Island Project, told CBSN New York.
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“We’ve been working with families and friends of the deceased, and the City Council heard their cries that it’s just unfair for people to have to go through the penal system to visit someone who’s buried on Hart Island.”
The mayor still has to sign off on the transfer, which is expected to be completed by 2021.
