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October 22, 2004
Beneath the Yard
In the early 1990's, a plan for building a $500 million, 3,000 ton-a-day garbage incinerator in Brooklyn caused quite a ruckus. The plant, which would have sat on land in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was intended to reduce dependence on Fresh Kills. Several community groups came together to dispute the plan, citing a myriad of issues ranging from environmental to historical concerns.
The latter claims were quite interesting. Landmark Navy Yard buildings aside, historians noted that many of the warehouses and piers were built upon a Revolutionary War-era graveyard. It is speculated that the site holds the remains of nearly 11,000 soldiers who were held prisoner (and apparently tortured) aboard British ships in Wallabout Bay.
Ultimately, the incinerator never happened. Even Giuliani was not hot on the idea, and plans were squelched in 1996. There are a myriad of articles about the dispute, however there is one absolute gem: a 1993 map, culled from borough historical societies, of known one-time and existing burial sites across the city. The map is quite amazing. The intro text states:
New York City's surface has been scraped and smoothed over many times in three and a half centuries. The Dutch covered Indian traces and the British covered the Dutch traces. Farms leveled the forest, and tenements leveled the farms. Burial places have been no more sacred than any other real estate in the city. Here are some of the sites that were once though to be final resting places, but have been since been shown less than final...
[The Ghosts of Graveyards; New York Times (1857-Current file); May 23, 1993; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times pg. 23.]
There doesn't seem to be a lot of conversation about the graveyard after the incinerator plan was put aside. In fact, the historical argument did not hold up in court. From what I could understand from the legalese, the plan was actually approved by the court.
More interesting tidbits to come. For more interesting information about archaeology in NYC, check out .
Posted by callalillie at October 22, 2004 8:30 AM | Brooklyn Navy Yard
I think I see a graveyard walking tour in the near future. Afterall, Halloween is coming up...
Posted by: Alexis at October 22, 2004 10:54 AM
I think that many of them are unmarked/beneath existing structures.
Posted by: corie at October 22, 2004 11:02 AM
Well, then we will have to check out the basements!
Posted by: Alexis at October 22, 2004 11:19 AM
The cool thing about the map is that it specifies whether it was a one-time burial site, existing burial site of historic note, one-time black burial site, or one-time Indian burial site. Interesting.
Posted by: corie at October 22, 2004 11:32 AM
