{"id":365352,"date":"2026-10-06T01:12:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T01:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/365352\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T01:12:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T01:12:39","slug":"pols-say-theyll-pony-up-funds-for-african-burial-ground-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/365352\/","title":{"rendered":"Pols Say They\u2019ll Pony Up Funds for African Burial Ground Memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

A group of Queens elected officials say they\u2019re determined to find funding for the city to purchase the Elmhurst site of a historic Black cemetery and turn it into a memorial to the freed slaves buried there.<\/p>\n

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.<\/a> recently called on the administration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a> to step up and buy the plot at 47-11 90th St., where the owners paved over sacred ground to put up a parking lot. Abandoned vehicles towed in an NYPD program wound up littering the site.<\/p>\n

The mayor has so far remained noncommittal, saying only that the city Landmarks Preservation Commission<\/a> needs to first decide whether to landmark the lot. Asked by The City Reporter last week about the drumbeat of officials and community leaders calling for the city to purchase the site, he responded, \u201cThat is a conversation that\u2019s ongoing. We\u2019ll be sure to get back to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richards, on the other hand, says he\u2019s all in on finding funding necessary to buy the site and create some type of memorial to honor those who are buried there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am committed. I have a $120 million budget,\u201d he said, noting a similar project<\/a> to erect a Holocaust memorial on the grounds of Queens Borough Hall for which he\u2019s allocated $3 million.<\/p>\n

\"MembersAn iron coffin was among several artifacts and human remains found buried on the site of the former cemetery of the St. Mark AME church in Elmhurst. Credit: Courtesy of St. Marks AME Church<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a process,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s not slow-walk this. Let\u2019s not let this get caught up in bureaucracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councilmember Shekar Krishnan (D-Queens), whose district includes the site, is also on board to find a way to pay for a land purchase and subsequent memorial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city must step in and buy this plot of land because the formerly enslaved Black New Yorkers<\/a> who shaped Newtown and Elmhurst deserve dignity and a proper memorial. We must rewrite this injustice,\u201d Krishnan said. \u201cI plan to work with our elected partners to allocate funding to ensure this can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The parking lot was shut down by the Department of Buildings<\/a> and the property is in foreclosure and for sale, with various real estate sites listing asking prices ranging from $7 million to $11 million.<\/p>\n

None reference the presence of the burial ground, nor do they note state Attorney General Letitia James<\/a> has filed a motion in the foreclosure case asking a judge to require the seller to notify potential buyers of the presence of the cemetery there, and requiring they properly address the human remains buried there as required by the state Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act.<\/p>\n

\"VehiclesVehicles were removed from an Elmhurst parking lot sitting atop a 19th century African burial ground, Sept. 18, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg\/The City Reporter<\/p>\n

The site dates back to 1818 and was purchased in 1828 \u2014 the year after slaves were freed in New York state \u2014 by the founders of what would become the St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church. The church later sold the property in the 1930s and moved to nearby Jackson Heights, but, according to current law,\u00a0remains the steward over the property and has a say in what becomes of the burial ground.<\/p>\n

St. Mark\u2019s Pastor Kimberly Detherage has joined in the call for the city to buy the land and put up a memorial to honor those buried there. She joined several Queens politicians, including state Sens. Leroy Comrie and Jessica Ramos, at a Sept. 18th press conference at the site arranged by Richards to call for a memorial there.<\/p>\n

Comrie said he would work with Richards and others \u201cto ensure this sacred ground is protected for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am committed to working with Borough President Richards, the city and community leaders to identify and support funding for the acquisition of this historic burial ground and the creation of a memorial green space,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>\n

MORE: Paved-Over Historic Black Cemetery Is Now Up For Sale, Lawyer Says<\/a><\/p>\n

Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who defeated Ramos in the June Democratic primary, said in a statement that officials \u201cshould be doing everything we can to preserve this history, protect the site, and create a lasting memorial.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Councilmember Shanel Thomas-Henry (D-Queens) said she would sponsor funding toward acquiring the property and creating a memorial there. \u201cWe cannot change the indignities that have already occurred on this land, but we can decide what happens next,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), who also attended the press conference, said her ability to obtain federal funds for a purchase is blocked \u201cdue to current restrictions in the Republican-led House\u201d that bar members of Congress \u201cfrom providing discretionary funding for memorials.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would support obtaining funding if this changes,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The saga over the burial site dates to 2011, when workers doing excavation for a failed luxury condo project there struck an iron coffin containing the remains of a free Black woman.\u00a0<\/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. The cars were later removed after The City Reporter exposed the illegal parking lot. Credit: Greg Smith\/The City Reporter<\/p>\n

A firm that subsequently performed archaeological work at the site, Chrysalis Archaeology Consultants, believes there are at least 100 more bodies still buried there. The firm currently has possession of human remains of 10 people who were exhumed during their examination of the site and is keeping them in \u201csecure storage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week Stuart Zisholtz, a lawyer for the firm, filed papers in the foreclosure case in support of the attorney general\u2019s motion to ensure any buyer properly addresses the existence of the burial site. He suggested one potential source of funding to do that: the federal African American Burial Grounds Preservation Program.<\/p>\n

The program authorizes the National Park Service to offer $3 million in annual grants \u201cto aid preservation efforts across the country, to research, identify, document, preserve and interpret historic African American burial grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program is something the parties may wish to apply for in helping to offset the required costs of the NYS Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act,\u201d Zisholtz wrote.<\/p>\n

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