Woodlawn Conservancy pitches youth internships, tours and preservation work to Bronx committee

Meg Ventrudo, executive director of the Woodlawn Conservancy, told the Education, Culture and Youth Services Committee on May 20 that the historic Woodlawn Cemetery in the northwest Bronx operates a range of education and preservation programs that include paid internships, public tours and large volunteer efforts to honor veterans.

Ventrudo began by outlining the sites history and scale: "Woodlawn is 400 acres, and Woodlawn, was established in 1863," she said, adding that the cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011 and contains what she described as the "largest and finest collection of funerary art in the United States." She described features that make the site a learning resource, from a "Jazz Corner" with graves of Duke Ellington and Miles Davis to stained-glass windows by Tiffany and John LaFarge.

The Conservancy also runs workforce and youth programs. Ventrudo detailed the "Bridge to Crafts" careers program, launched in 2015, which splits training into landscaping, masonry and bronze/community restoration tracks and places students in summer employment with Bronx International High School and The Bronx Lab High School. "All young people in the program get these certifications, OSHA, site safety, flagger, [and] first aid," she said, and added that the program covers certification costs for interns.

On scheduling and eligibility, Ventrudo said the Conservancy runs a spring cohort that starts in February and ends in early May and a fall cohort that begins after Labor Day; she gave daily hours as 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and said participants must be 18 to 24, residents of the five boroughs and legally authorized to work in the United States. Ventrudo described the internship as a paid placement; she also mentioned a "10-week paid internship" at one point while describing a fall session she later summarized as about eight weeks, a discrepancy noted during committee questions.

Committee members and public commenters pressed on logistics and outreach. Ventrudo said public tours and schedules are posted on woodlawn.org, that Wednesday afternoon tours during the summer months are free, and that trolley tours typically cost about $20to$25 per person. She confirmed that the Conservancy places flags on the graves of "over 9,000 veterans" each Memorial Day and said recent volunteer turnout for that effort had been about 200 people with another 100 scheduled.

Several community members praised Woodlawns mix of preservation and job-training. A participant identified by the chair as AJ Ramos, who the chair introduced earlier as representing CB 11 in Woodlawn, urged continued outreach to veterans and LGBTQ communities and asked for more on-site historical signage; Ventrudo said Woodlawn runs a pride tour and works with the LGBT Sites Project to highlight LGBTQ graves and history. Another attendee, introduced as Kate Cardona, described AmeriCorps experience and said she wished programs like Bridge to Crafts had been available to young people in her family.

Ventrudo agreed to share the slide deck and recruitment materials with the committee by email to support outreach. The committee made a motion to adjourn later in the meeting; the motion was seconded and Chair Alex Ellison closed the meeting at 8:04 p.m.

What happens next: Ventrudo said she will email the slide deck to Chair Alex Ellison and the Conservancy will continue outreach and recruitment for spring and fall cohorts. Community board members said they would circulate flyers and consider organizing site tours for local schools and civic groups.