NYC Council hearing urges citywide inventory of burial sites tied to slavery as experts warn protections are limited

Deputy Speaker Nantasha Williams opened a New York City Council oversight hearing on commemorating Juneteenth and honoring burial sites of formerly enslaved African Americans, saying the session would examine Intro 2-20, a bill to identify, document and educate the public about such sites across the city.

Sponsors and advocates framed the proposed law as urgent. A bill sponsor (recorded as Council Member Hanks) described these burial grounds as sacred places too often erased, neglected or paved over and said the bill aims at "recognition, education, accountability and preservation" so descendants and New Yorkers can learn and remember. Public Advocate Jemani Williams urged the council to pass the measure to ensure the city "works quickly and proactively to fully account for such burial sites." He and others said teaching the city’s full history requires naming these places.

Experts testifying for the record urged community-centered, specialist-led approaches. Dr. Matthew Riley, a CUNY anthropologist, said the bill could convene archaeologists, descendant communities and officials to avoid past harms seen when remains were recovered under development pressure. Herbert Signore recommended noninvasive methods and emphasized descendant involvement after recounting Seneca Village’s dispossession. Dr. Elizabeth Mead, who has documented more than 500 current and former cemeteries across the five boroughs, highlighted large documentation gaps and said current city law provides no mechanism to protect known archaeological burial sites before disturbance. She and other witnesses cited the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as part of the federal context that led to some rediscoveries but said local protections are limited.

Panelists and council members discussed practical concerns about identification, disclosure and protection. Archaeologists agreed that publicizing precise locations can raise risks of looting or vandalism for some accessible sites, and that descendant communities may prefer privacy in some cases. Dr. Asia Lance recommended broadening the bill’s scope beyond sites strictly tied to enslavement to include Black and African diaspora cemeteries that postdate slavery but suffer the same erasure.

Alton Murray, deputy commissioner at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), described the agency’s role as a funder of Juneteenth programming across the city and listed grantees and events the agency supports. Murray said DCLA had added $10 million to its budget for grants and is prepared to fund commemorative projects, but he told the committee DCLA lacks the specialized heritage-assessment expertise to lead an inventory and recommended interagency collaboration — mentioning the Landmarks Preservation Commission and Parks as likely partners.

Council members pressed DCLA on whether Intro 2-20 should explicitly authorize contracts and grants and asked about creating a permanent cemetery maintenance fund modeled on a Virginia program. Murray said grants and peer-review processes are within DCLA’s practice and that DCLA is open to further conversations; several council members asked the committee to convene other agencies, including LPC, for follow-up discussions.

Speakers from libraries and design teams described New Lots branch and Sankofa Park work in East New York. Edwin Maxwell of the Brooklyn Public Library, designer Chris Hardy and landscape architect Elizabeth Kennedy said the New Lots project incorporates remembrance plaza elements and procedures for respectful handling of remains if discovered, emphasizing community-led design and long-term stewardship.

Public witnesses described local cases that shaped the hearing. Heather Quinlan recounted the Cherry Lane Cemetery and the story of Benjamin Prine, whose burial site in Staten Island was seized and paved over; Quinlan said descendants still seek closure and called for ground-penetrating radar surveys and grant support when property access is restricted. Judith Insel of the Bronx Arts Ensemble described a Juneteenth event tied to a Van Cortlandt Park burial-ground commemoration expected to draw about 1,000 people.

The hearing produced no formal vote. Committee members directed follow-up: convening additional agencies (LPC, Parks, DCLA), exploring funding mechanisms for surveys and memorial maintenance, and ensuring descendant communities are central to identification and disclosure decisions. The chair invited additional written testimony and closed the hearing.

What happens next: Committee members signaled plans for interagency meetings and additional hearings to refine who will maintain the proposed list, how public disclosure will be handled to reduce looting risk, and whether dedicated maintenance funding or explicit grant authority should be built into Intro 2-20.