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A Tour of NYC's Mass Burial Site That's Also a Public Park Now

The Parks Department opened up limited visits to Hart Island last fall, as part of its transition into a public park as well as the city’s municipal burial ground.

A former anti-aircraft missile site sat on Harts Island during the Cold War, Sept. 10, 2024. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITYTwo deep, freshly dug trenches were visible on the visit, but Parks Department spokesperson Gregg McQueen requested no photos or videos be taken “out of respect for the deceased.” But while that plan is still in the works, with a public comment session due later this year, THE CITY recently reported that the number of bodies placed in each mass grave was quietly increased to 200 caskets per trench from what had been a standard of 150. Advocates with the Hart Island Project, a nonprofit organization that maintains an online database of the people buried there since 1980 and a map of their grave locations, are pushing the city to reconsider its century-old system of mass burials.

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