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            Throughout the majority of history classes I have taken, we were taught about wars and genocides. I fell under the impression that mass graves were used in the aftermaths of the Napoleonic Wars, the coup d’état in Chile, the Spanish Civil War, the Rwandan Genocide, the list goes on. Never would I think mass burials occurred in the United States, let alone around half an hour away where people continue to be buried in mass graves today. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aggressive outbreaks in New York City, I saw pictures of inmates burying victims in mass graves, only to learn more about the island and its dark past just a few days ago. 

            Since Hart Island started to be used in the mid 1800s, first as a training ground for “colored” troops, over time it began to host an asylum, quarantine hospitals for yellow fever and tuberculosis, a school for “vicious boys,” a Cold War Nike Ajax missile base, and eventually over one million bodies – Civil War soldiers, bodies from the 1822 burial crisis, casualties of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, stillborn babies, and victims of the AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics – buried by inmates of Rikers Island (PR Newswire). For the past 150 years, the New York City Department of Corrections has managed burials on Hart Island. Throughout those 150 years, visitation to the island and graves has been restricted, only allowing limited amounts of visitors recently in the wake of the 2014 class-action lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union that challenged the harsh restrictions. Over the years, it has been debated whether visitation to the island should be permitted.

 

            Access to Hart Island should be improved to allow families and members of the public the chance to mourn the losses of loved ones. In addition, access to Hart Island will allow for the public to learn about the extensive history of the island and its uniqueness. Access to the island has been practically nonexistent leading up to the class-action lawsuit brought to the city by the NYCLU, mainly due to the Department of Corrections having power and jurisdiction over the island and its access throughout the time it has been used for burials. With improved access, families of the deceased should be allowed to visit, as it is a public cemetery, like any other, just surrounded by water. There should not be any reason as to why families are not allowed to visit their loved ones as they would in a public cemetery on land. Shall the Department of Parks and Recreation move to turn Hart Island into a park, the public should be allowed access to use the area respectfully. Hart Island with improved access would allow for people to visit loved ones and learn about the history, similar to people having the chance to visit at a gazebo and learn about the history while close family members are allowed to go to the burial sites (New York Department of Corrections).  

             Improved access to Hart Island would be achieved using the current ferry system being utilized by the Department of Corrections from City Island to Hart. Although it is thought by some members of the NYC Parks Department that “infrastructure does not exist” to be able to sustain a safe ferry system (Spivack), there is no reason to believe why the current system in place used by the Department of Corrections would not be able to bring visitors to the island in the future. Although the possible use of Hart Island as a park in the future would attract a greater volume of visitors, for the time being the current system in place would function well. Improved access to Hart Island should be allowed on most days of the week, especially the weekends to allow for the free exercise of religion at gravesites, as fought for during the NYCLU’s lawsuit. Out of respect for proper upkeep of the island as well as following most public parks, hours of access for Hart Island should be from sunrise to sunset, allowing families to spend as much or little time with their loved ones. Due to the fact that the Parks Department will not take over for the Department of Corrections until burials have stopped (Martin), taxpayer money would not be allocated towards burying bodies and paying for Rikers Island inmates’ labor, instead it could be used towards the restoration of old buildings as well as the establishment of certain memorials and educational resources in addition to running the ferry to and from City Island. The suspension of burials means the maximum-security efforts in place would be eased with the halt of inmates coming to the island to work. In avoidance of injury and accidents, restoration efforts should be made to stabilize the buildings present on the island in preservation of history. In addition, the efforts to stop the erosion of the island should continue as preserving the island and its history is important, not only to the loved ones of the deceased, but to future generations that will live to learn about the island and its history. 

 

           While access to the island has been fought for, there is evidence to believe that access to the island should be limited. Access to the park should only be for visitors of burial areas, close family members and those connected to the deceased. Involvement of the Parks Department would complicate the current visitation process and “NYC Parks could open the door to inadvertently disturbing graves” in addition to violating religious customs, according to Brooklyn Councilman Chaim Deutsh. The island is a cemetery and the buried should be respected. Normally people do not play around and leisure in public cemeteries on land, so why should they on Hart Island? The island’s history, while important, left some buildings standing that are unstable and extremely dangerous to be around, such as the Phoenix House and a former prison (Sharrock). There are many unknowns about the island in addition to the erosion of the shorelines, causing bones to wash up, that are examples of how the island is not meant for visitors; it is a reminder that Hart Island is a resting place for one million people and should be kept that way. Close family and friends of the deceased should be allowed access, as well as researchers, shoreline restoration experts, and historians that can help preserve the island’s history. 

            Seen as a “rite of passage for City Island teenagers” to go to Hart Island to vandalize abandoned buildings (Yuan), it is dangerous for people to try and access the island by their own means. Those who attempt to swim across risk drowning and those who enter and vandalize buildings risk having structures collapse. There are too many dangers that pose threats to those who try to come to the island without supervision and direction of the officials who oversee official visitations. Although there would be limited access, since the Department of Corrections will halt its oversight of the island, the Parks Department should oversee the restricted visitation. The Department of Corrections’s involvement in the island created a stigma that Hart Island is a dump for the unwanted and that the deceased are “buried by prisoners, the rejects of society, and then off limits” (Yuan). Control by the Parks Department can bring change to the island, focusing more on the history rather than allocating money towards burials, while continuing to preserve the island and respect the peace of the deceased. 

 

             In a time where our fate is unknown, living in a global pandemic where our close friends and family are testing positive for COVID-19, we are forced to think about our future. I believe people should be buried how they wish. While I find it ridiculous how much funerals and plots at cemeteries cost, I do believe it is a person’s right to be buried in the way and place they desire. I am Korean, but I was adopted by a white family. In Korean funerals, there are no eulogies and expressing condolences to those who are mourning is widely practiced. Rather than selecting plots, in Korea they practice pungsu-jiri (풍수지리) where a “blessed site” is selected for one’s grave. The site is chosen by an “earth diviner” and funeral and burial rituals are performed (Shaffer). Korean burials are thought to be more about establishing a spiritual connection with the deceased, rather than using a plot and headstone to express one’s wealth, as in Europe and the United States, “like a house, a burial plot or mausoleum is property, real estate, and as real estate it readily becomes an expression of social status and individual personality” (Eggener). 

             Individuals have the rights to lots in cemeteries, if they have the money to acquire one. Families have up to 30 days to claim a body for their own burial practices, although during COVID-19, due to the increase in deceased bodies and decrease in space to hold these in morgues, families have been given 15 days (Glenday). Families should have the rights to visit the deceased, as the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the free exercise of religion. 

            Despite the fact that mass burials in public cemeteries do not involve the process of embalming bodies to keep practices cheap, professionals should be burying the dead, not inmates. I believe the practices at Hart Island prior to the pandemic were extremely wrong and demoralizing. Inmates at Rikers, while serving sentences, should not be exploited for cheap labor by the government. Not only is the work hazardous, it is extremely damaging and their work is worth more than $1-$6 an hour (Herbert). Many inmates have come out with inspiring stories about how it has opened their eyes, including the words of Saxon Palmer who found a “beautiful stillness” during his time at Hart Island, but it is not appropriate to exploit the inmates for cheap labor such as the burials of bodies and the manufacturing of hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic (Herbert). The transfer of Hart Island oversight from the Department of Corrections to the Parks Department is a powerful move that “would transform the island from a prison for the dead to a public green space that bears the scars of a complex history,” moving away from being thought of as a “secluded, secretive, and shameful place” (Martin). With that being said, the Department of Corrections should not manage the Hart Island cemetery, as it only invites the department to utilize inmates for cheap labor as they have in the past. It does seem odd to have Parks managing the cemetery, but it invites the opportunity for the public to be more educated about the past of Hart Island and its rich history of various uses. 

           With the rise of climate change, drop in burial space, and increase in deaths, many have been scrambling to find new, environmentally friendly practices of burial. South Koreans and many others in the world have moved towards cremation as a way to cut down on burial space. This is achieved by storing remains in a columbarium, napgol-dang (납골당) in Korean, which can house many different individuals in a space that previously would have been used to bury one body. Similar to James Carroll’s design for future Hart Island burials, South Koreans have looked towards using tree burials. Remains would be buried under a tree, allowing for the tree to grow larger and into a magnificent creation over time, something that could be enjoyed for future generations. In addition to tree burials, Koreans have practiced natural burials where cremated remains are placed in a pot and buried under plants. Over time, as the pot dissolves, the ashes fertilize the plants, preserving the natural beauty of the environment (Shaffer). As time goes on, more and more people are looking towards greener forms of burial. In a few years there will no longer be enough room for everyone to have a plot at a traditional cemetery. More natural burial practices and cremation have become increasingly popular, as cremation costs up to $3,000, in comparison to the added costs of cemetery plots and burial assistance ranging anywhere from $3,000 to $20,000 depending on the location (Martin). In addition to the decreased costs to cremate, burial practices such as tree or natural burials give back to the environment by helping nature flourish and grow. While practices like cremation are costly, something that could not be covered by the taxpayer’s dollar, proposals such as James Carroll’s tumuli-style burials allows for the deceased to be buried in a similar fashion, yet still giving back to the environment by saving space and creating mounds. 

 

            Learning about Hart Island and the long history of various burial practices in the world, I became interested in learning about different cultures and angered at the long history of exploitation and marginalization. Hart Island is often seen as a “failure of American society to achieve democracy in death as well as in life,” as mass graves have been used “for slave or prison burials, as an exigency of war or epidemic, or in ‘potter’s fields’ for the indigent and unclaimed” (Eggener). Discovering the history of the island and understanding how the unidentified and unclaimed were buried there, most likely those who were impoverished, homeless, or who were ill, signals how “people who have been marginalized in life again have been marginalized in death,” according to Manhattan Council Member Mark Levine. As time moves forward, it will be interesting to see what happens to Hart Island and the role the Parks Department will have in the future. Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez stated that “[w]e must turn Hart Island into a proper final place of rest,” not continue its seclusion from the world as a dark, dangerous, and mysterious place we know it as today. Transforming Hart Island into a park or a memorial where family members will have an easier time visiting loved ones would have a positive impact on the community. Although it doesn’t serve as a cemetery and there is no area to visit the buried, Washington Square Park sits on top of a potter’s field that was used in the early 1800s, a park now visited by many each day (French). Hart Island has the potential to become a ground to honor the dead, a space to learn about New York’s rich history, and a place for many to come to, not only to celebrate life and learn about the past, but spend time in a peaceful environment allowing for reflection and growth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Works Cited

 

 

Eggener, Keith. “Building on Burial Ground: Cemeteries.” Places Journal, Dec. 2010, https://placesjournal.org/article/building-on-burial-ground/

 

French, Mary. “Public Burial Ground, Washington Square Park.” New York City Cemetery Project, 15 May 2019, https://nycemetery.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/public-burial-ground-madison-square-park-2/.

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Gates, Moses. “5 Reasons Hart Island, NYC's Mass Burial Ground, Should Be Open to the Public.” Untapped New York, 30 May 2018, https://untappedcities.com/2018/05/30/5-reasons-nycs-hart-island-should-be-open-to-the-public/.

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Glenday, James. “New York City Is No Stranger to Mass Burials, Particularly during Major Disease Outbreaks like Coronavirus COVID-19.” ABC News, ABC News, 14 Apr. 2020, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-15/coronavirus-new-york-hart-island-mass-graves/12146208.

 

Herbert, Geoff. “Report: Rikers Island Inmates Offered $6 per Hour to Dig Mass Graves in NYC.” Syracuse, 1 Apr. 2020, https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/04/report-rikers-island-inmates-offered-6-per-hour-to-dig-mass-graves-in-nyc.html.

 

Martin, Kristen. “Abolishing the Prison of the Dead.” The Baffler, Nov. 2019, https://thebaffler.com/salvos/abolishing-the-prison-of-the-dead-martin.

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Meier, Allison C. “Pandemic Victims Are Filling NYC's Hart Island. It Isn't the First Time.” National Geographic, 15 Apr. 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/04/unclaimed-coronavirus-victims-being-buried-on-hart-island-long-history-as-potters-field/.  

 

"NYCLU Sues to Allow Families to Visit the Gravesites of their Loved Ones on Hart Island." Targeted News Service, Dec 03, 2014. ProQuest, https://jerome.stjohns.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1629882104?accountid=14068.

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PR Newswire. “New Light Installation Unveiled to Raise Awareness for Hart Island, Bronx, NYC.” PR Newswire US, 15 Jan. 2020. EBSCOhost, https://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=f5c055a1-492b-43f2-b063-77913e8d6abb%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=202001151030PR.NEWS.USPR.NY90260&db=bwh.

 

Shaffer, Dr. David. Burying the Dead in Korea. 4 Mar. 2020, https://gwangjunewsgic.com/arts-culture/korean-culture/korean-burial/.

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Sharrock, Anne. Hunt, Melinda. Fisher, Ian. Landscape Strategy City Cemetery, New York. September, 2015.

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Spivack, Caroline. “Hart Island Will Become Publicly Accessible Parkland.” Curbed NY, Curbed NY, 14 Nov. 2019, https://ny.curbed.com/2019/11/14/20963508/hart-island-new-york-public-parkland.   

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“The Basic Laws Pertaining to Cemeteries.” Stimmel Law, https://www.stimmel-law.com/en/articles/basic-laws-pertaining-cemeteries.

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“Visiting Hart Island.” Department of Correction, https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doc/about/hart-island.page.

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Yuan, Jada “On N.Y.’s Hart Island, Burials of Unclaimed Dead Surge.” Washington Post, The, 2020 Spring 4AD. EBSCOhost, https://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=70204dbb-305b-4974-a36a-9f615c2b16dc%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=wapo.a0c413ee-7f5f-11ea-a3ee-13e1ae0a3571&db=bwh.