Hart Island in the 21st Century

3/3/2021

Hart Island has had a long and strange history. Once a training ground for “colored” troops, it has gone on to house a lunatic asylum, various hospitals, a school for “vicious boys”, a nike missile base, and a rehabilitation center for drug addicted youth. For the last 150 or so years it has been the site of NYC’s public cemetery or “potters field”, where those unclaimed by family members, too poor to have a proper burial, or victims of some kind of bureaucratic error are interred in mass graves. Mothers of still born babies who did not have other options or were simply not informed as to the fate of their child’s body have signed releases allowing for their infant to be buried in mass graves, each containing 1000 corpses. To this date there are over 1 million remains buried on Hart Island.

One of the most painful issues is the tremendously complicated and prohibitive procedure family’s and loved ones must go through to visit the island, and even more so to request disinterment. The artist Melinda Hunt has created the Hart Island Project to advocate for citizen’s right to information and access. This has resulted in many improvements, but there is still much unresolved.

“What kind of a person would let a person go into the ground if he knows him?” -Eddie Coleman (5). Despite being near the busiest and energetic locations in NY state, Hart Island, found east of the Bronx, has long been used as a burial site for the unclaimed dead. Run by the Department of Corrections, the island buries over a thousand bodies per year with the aid of prison inmates (1). Previously, however, none of these people were given any identification or determination of where they were buried, and the island was off limits. Thankfully, due to the works of Melinda Hunt, people can now track and visit their loved ones that have been buried on Hart Island, though there is still much to be done. When looking at the past and present of the island, we can look towards the future in creating changes for both the burials and the rights of the visitors.

Former-Workhouse-and-Current-Gravesites-

(12) Melinda Hunt

Access to Hart Island is not only important but should be a right to all people who have loved ones buried on the island. Many people would not have any reason to come to Hart Island if it wasn’t for the thousands of identified and unidentified people are buried on the island.

Hart-Island-New-Mass-Grave-with-Burial-R

(12) Due to Melinda Hunt, this mass grave is marked with burial records

Thanks to the efforts of Melinda Hunt, records for people buried since 1985 have been uncovered, which she put together with GPS information in order to identify and locate the bodies of many of the buried (1). This continues to be tracked today, allowing many people to locate family members that were sent to be buried on Hart Island due to their own reasons. Though the burial of people on Hart Island is recognizably less elaborate than the modern-day funeral and burial, it still holds the fundamental core of the loss of a loved one. Depriving families and friends from their ability to respectfully visit and mourn for the dead takes away a natural right that should be rightfully granted to people. Hart Island also holds historical buildings and landscapes, such as previously being a training ground for African American soldiers, a prison, and a tuberculosis hospital (1). This history may attract many curious visitors and provide revenue to help maintain the island. The government can construct and provide transportation between the Bronx and the island, such as a small ferry or boats. Visitors should be charged a small fee in order to

provide revenue, but those that come to mourn should be free from charge. These people can gain access through identification of themselves and the people they are visiting, in order to confirm their relationship to the dead. Hart Island should only be open for limited hours of the day, however, due to the numerous burials taking place even today. But the island should always be available to access year-round, allowing people to visit the dead appropriately. Providing this access to the island gives people the opportunities to seek out their beloved and to pay proper respects. As stated by Councilmember Ydnais Rodriguez, “We must turn Hart Island into a proper final place of rest…This is about giving respect and dignity to the people who are buried on the island and the family members who must go through a lengthy and at times complicated process to be able to visit their loved ones who are buried there,” (12).

(10) Abandoned asylum on Hart Island

(13) Several hundred marked graves

There are, however, several concerns in allowing access to Hart Island. The surrounding area and waters can be dangerous, as seen from the case with the four lost teenagers when they attempted to take a boat to Hart Island (8). It was also stated that creating a ferry link may become a public safety hazard due to the instability of certain locations (13). Hart Island itself is in poor condition, being exposed to soil erosion, which has caused the body parts of the buried to resurface on the shores of the island. Unrestricted access may also cause problems within Hart Island. As voiced by Brooklyn Councilman Chaim Deutsch, opening the island to visitors can lead to “…inadvertently disturbing graves and…religious customs could be violated,” (13). Precautions and respect for certain rules may not be conducted by all visitors and disrespect the dead in some manner. With the rise of COVID-19, health and hygiene has become an

important factor to consider as well, especially when Hart Island has been used to bury the bodies of COVID victims when funeral homes were packed (4). During times of unknown medical crisis, bodies may carry bacteria from the illnesses that people have died from and can potentially be harmful to not only visitors but the communities that they will return to. Oversight in the access of Hart Island can also become problematic. Though it can provide jobs for the unemployed, they may have to oversee large amounts of visitors at a time and will also have to take caution of the workers on Hart Island, who consist of prison inmates from Rikers Island (11), which may cause unease for the visitors safety. Hart Island consists of many potential dangers and problems for people who are granted access to visiting the island, which can lead to greater issues in the long run.

(7) Prison inmates burying bodies

The history of Hart Island began in 1864 as the training grounds for African American troops. As time went on, the island went through many intriguing yet tragic changes and additions as “…a women’s lunatic asylum, a tuberculosis hospital, a prison and a “reformatory for vicious boys””, a German prison, and a defense missile site (1). Being separated from the main land by the surround water, Hart Island has constantly shifted into a place of questionable isolation for multiple needs. In the present time, Hart Island is used as a burial site for the

Hart-Island-Adult-mass-burial-February-1

unclaimed and unburied dead bodies, with limited visits from people. Due to having a cultural background and personal view where respectful burials of all kinds are acceptable, becoming knowledgeable about the efficient, yet unceremonious burials happening on Hart Island came as an initial shock, especially when having no knowledge of the existence of the island beforehand. It would only seem naturally respectful to have a burial conducted with the family present and granted the right to visit when desirable. And though having prison inmates burying the bodies is efficient, it may appear less desirable in some eyes and should also be something that the family should give their consent for. The burying of bodies generally appears as a very respectful event to both the dead and the families, and it is hard to imagine anything less. As of today, Hart Island appears to continue to be a burial site for bodies for the time being. Because Hart Island is quite similar to a cemetery, it seems reasonable that the future of Hart Island

(12) Mass burial of adult bodies

should be managed by the NYC Division of Cemeteries. Due to the island’s history, the condition of the island has been left barren and unsuitable for proper respect for the dead. As it maintains and preserves many cemeteries and crematories in the present, having Hart Island under the management of the Division of Cemeteries can help recreate the island into a more well-maintained, respectful, and available location for both burials and visitors. By providing funds and manpower, the island can be developed into a proper burial site to pay respects.

The most common method of burials has been in caskets, made from a wide range of decorative materials. However, whether they are constructed of flashy metals or of simple wood in Hart Island, there have been many environmental concerns on the harm that the burial process has. As studies have found that when the bodies and casket are buried, as “…components degrade and decompose over time they could discharge inorganic and organic constituents that can contaminate different environmental media, such as ground water, soils, vegetation and

surface water…,” (2). The removal of these environment contaminants also takes a great amount of time, which can cause a lasting effect on both the environment and humans. Within Hart Island specifically, the use of wood coffins can inject elements such as copper, chromium, and arsenic into the surrounding soil, due to the degrading of these wood preservatives (2). In order to change this process into someone more environmentally friendly, we can turn to green burials, such as biodegradable shrouds and urns. From an economical standpoint, the use of shrouds can provide Hart Island with a less costly method of burial that takes less space than a casket. Cremating bodies and placing them into urns not only provides the benefits that shrouds do, but also removes the potential environmental harm that a corpse may have when buried underground. In addition, biodegradable caskets are another alternative in the case that people want to properly bury bodies in caskets. Caskets

(6) Eco-friendly caskets and urns

made of renewable material such as cotton and bamboo decompose much faster and cause less harm to the environment (3). Though Hart Island is a vast place to bury the dead, we must also look toward the future and consider what will happen when we run out of space. Turning to green burials can not only solve this problem, but also aid the island economically and environmentally for its future burials.

Since 1869, over a million people have been laid to rest in mass graves over Hart Island. Without being given proper burials or recognition by families, bodies have been buried all over the island when left unclaimed (9). The current conditions of the burial process and oversight of the island are still lacking in many ways but have been considerably improved on over the past years. The environmental impact and access to the island have an urgent need to be changed in order to deliver both safety to the island and rights to the families of the dead. Whether it through new management of the island or better care for its current state, it can be changed for the better of both the buried and the visitors. With proper care, many of its current problems can be resolved for both the present and the future of Hart Island.

(1) Albert, Elizabeth. Silent Beaches, Untold Stories: New York City's Forgotten Waterfront. St. John's University, 2013.

(2) Aruomero, Amuno S., and Oluwajana Afolabi. "Comparative Assessment of Trace Metals in Soils Associated with Casket Burials: Towards Implementing Green Burials." Eurasian Journal of Soil Science, vol. 3, no. 1, 2014, pp. 65-76. ProQuest, https://www-proquest-com.jerome.stjohns.edu/scholarly-journals/comparative-assessment-trace-metals-soils/docview/1735755905/se-2?accountid=14068.

(3) Bayer, Ellen M. "Green Burial, Home Burial: A Return to Redbud Hill." The Trumpeter, vol. 34, no. 1, 2018, pp. 167-175. ProQuest, https://www-proquest-com.jerome.stjohns.edu/scholarly-journals/green-burial-home-return-redbud-hill/docview/2226335340/se-2?accountid=14068.

(4) City, The. “As Trenches Fill, Plans for Hart Island COVID-19 Memorial Look to Past and Future.” THE CITY, THE CITY, 11 Dec. 2020, www.thecity.nyc/2020/12/11/22170479/hart-island-covid-memorial-new-york-city-potters-field.

(5) Ferretti, Fred. 14 Aug. 1974, 65fce943-9305-49d8-9e2f-0aa84dd6dff3.filesusr.com/ugd/37629c_0dc5f6f4c46b4210a4e8ec9d86f10300.pdf.

(6) “Green Burial & Eco Friendly Options: Foothill Funeral and Cremation of Glendora.” Foothill Funeral and Cremation, www.foothillfuneralandcremation.com/page/green-burial-eco-friendly-options.

(7) Gross, Daniel A., and Susan B. Glasser. “The Transformation of Hart Island.” The New Yorker, www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-transformation-of-hart-island.

(8) Lueck, Thomas J. “Boat Believed Used by Four Lost Teenagers Is Found Capsized Near Hart Island.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Feb. 2003, www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/nyregion/boat-believed-used-by-four-lost-teenagers-is-found-capsized-near-hart-island.html.

(9) “Mass Graves near Manhattan: Digging up New York's Past.” BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-36306260.

(10) Purtill, Amy. A Trip to Hart Island. 19 Jan. 2016, medium.com/@amypurtill/a-trip-to-hart-island-d1971a3d9dda.

(11) Rosen, Jody. “How Covid-19 Has Forced Us to Look at the Unthinkable.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Apr. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/magazine/covid-hart-island.html.

(12) Schulz, Dana. “INTERVIEW: Melinda Hunt Memorializes the Unclaimed New Yorkers Buried on Hart Island.” 6sqft, 23 Mar. 2015, www.6sqft.com/interview-melinda-hunt-memorializes-the-unclaimed-new-yorkers-buried-on-hart-island/.

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