{"id":350816,"date":"2026-09-19T02:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T02:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/350816\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T02:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T02:27:18","slug":"ag-letitia-james-moves-to-protect-queens-african-burial-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/350816\/","title":{"rendered":"AG Letitia James Moves to Protect Queens African Burial Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"

State Attorney General Letitia James<\/a> on Friday announced she is intervening in the pending foreclosure sale of a parking lot in Elmhurst, Queens, that sits on top of an African burial ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n

James filed a motion Friday morning asking for a court order declaring that whoever purchases the property \u201cknows exactly who is buried there and is aware of their legal obligation to protect them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery New Yorker deserves to rest in peace and that includes the people buried on this land generations ago,\u201d she said. \u201cMy office will not allow a foreclosure sale to become yet another disrespectful event in this burial ground\u2019s unjustly troubled history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnAn Elmhurst, Queens, parking lot sits atop a 19th century cemetery where the remains of hundreds of free Black residents lie, Aug. 17, 2026. Credit: Greg Smith\/The City Reporter<\/p>\n

James\u2019 announcement came as Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. and other officials demanded that the city purchase the property and turn it into a memorial honoring the slaves and freed slaves who are buried there.<\/p>\n

Donovan said at a press conference held at the site Friday that he\u2019d had a recent conversation about the property with Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> but got no immediate commitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was on his radar and I\u2019ll leave it at that,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be forthcoming conversations with the administration in the days to come\u2026to ensure that they\u2019re taking this extremely seriously because this is serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the mayor ran on equity and inclusion,\u201d Richards added, \u201cand I hope that he follows through on this.\u201d \u00a0A spokesperson for the mayor did not comment on Donovan\u2019s request, but repeated the mayor\u2019s assertion that the city Landmarks Preservation Commission will consider a pending request to designate the site a landmark.<\/p>\n

MORE: New Push to Landmark Paved-Over Queens African Burial Ground<\/a><\/p>\n

\"CongregantsCongregants of St. Mark A.M.E. Church attend a press conference at the site of the church\u2019s 19th century burial ground in Elmhurst, Queens, Sept. 18, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg\/The City Reporter<\/p>\n

Others at the press conference pushing for the mayor to take control of the property included the Rev. Kimberly Detherage of St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church, which once owned the property and retains stewardship over the remains buried there, and Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, whose district includes the site.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe journey has been longstanding,\u201d Rev. Detherage said. \u201cWe want the city to purchase the land. We want to have some sort of memorial for some type of commemoration and we want people to know that we will not be erased.\u201d<\/p>\n

The multiple calls for intervention follow The City Reporter\u2019s recent disclosure<\/a> that the owner of the lot at 47-11 90th St. turned it into an illegal parking lot housing junked cars, including abandoned vehicles towed there under a program run by the NYPD.<\/p>\n

Records indicate the cemetery dates back to 1818. In 1828, the year after slavery was abolished in New York state, the site was purchased by the leaders of what would become St. Mark\u2019s AME. The church sold the property in the 1930s, and a factory was later built there. The factory owners sold it to a limited liability corporation, 90 Queens LLC, in 2009, which then demolished the building with a plan to put up luxury condos.<\/p>\n

The condo plan stalled in 2011 when workers using a backhoe struck an iron coffin containing the remains of a 25-year-old African American woman. Subsequent investigation of the site by archaeological teams found that hundreds of human remains were likely still there.<\/p>\n

The owner of the site, a limited liability corporation called 90 Queens LLC, defaulted on the mortgage there in 2022. Last year, they paved it over and opened up a parking lot. The city Department of Buildings soon after deemed the lot illegal, issuing multiple violations and ordering that it be shut down. (On Thursday DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky said as of earlier this week all the vehicles had been removed from the site).<\/p>\n

Councilmember Krishnan told The City Reporter that he supports Donovan\u2019s push to get the city to buy the property, stating, \u201cThis is hallowed ground even though the current developer hasn\u2019t treated it that way; clearly the people buried there deserve a memorial that recognizes their lives. They deserve a memorial that honors their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

James said her office is intervening under the state\u2019s Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act, which makes it illegal for anyone to \u201cremove, relocate, handle or otherwise disturb human remains found there until specific legal procedures for identifying and notifying descendants and culturally affiliated groups are completed.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. Mark\u2019s AME is the culturally affiliated group that still has a say in what happens to the remains still buried there.<\/p>\n

James said that \u201cgiven the prior disturbances there,\u201d she \u201cis concerned that without intervention, prospective buyers could take ownership with no notice that they would be legally responsible for protecting and properly handling the human remains on the land.\u201d<\/p>\n

The site is now up for sale under a procedure handled by a court-appointed referee. James asked the court to ensure the referee includes a copy of her motion and the text of the Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act in materials provided to every prospective buyer.<\/p>\n

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