Hart Island, NYC potters field, can get major upgrades under new plan

The city’s long neglected potter’s field off the coast of the Bronx may get an upgrade that includes a new visitor’s center, restrooms and benches.Hart Island’s facelift would come over 20 years and would include more shade coverage on the 131-acre site to accommodate a growing number of families visiting the isolated site, according to a concept plan that will be officially unveiled next month.“A lot of the common themes that we heard when hearing from community members was that they wanted this island to continue to be contemplative, peaceful, really to honor those who are buried here,” said NYC Parks Project Planner Laura Melendez, “while at the same time offering amenities such as restrooms and seating to make it a bit more comfortable for the families who come.”The projects are not funded to date, Melendez said, and therefore would be years away from happening.

As Parks raises money, the improvements will be made “as we go.” The potter’s field has been the final resting place for one million of New York’s unclaimed, poor, indigent or stillborn since 1869.The island has seen an “influx” of visitors since NYC Parks took over the burial ground from the Department of Corrections in 2021.

Hart Island has welcomed more than 1,900 visiting family members since — but there is still no drinking water available and the only public restrooms are porta-potties.After it opened to the public in 2023, 848 lucky tourists who won a coveted biweekly “lottery” for an urban park ranger-led tour have also paid the island a visit — but officials say they have no plans of turning the space into a recreational space a la Governor’s Island.“We want it to be a respectful place that’s peaceful for families to come and visit … we don’t view it as a public park in the sense that you’re not going to come here for a picnic or to throw a football around,” said urban park ranger Michael Whitten, who provides public tours on the island. “We...