NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- At first glance it may seem like just another vacant lot in New York City. But this patch of land in Elmhurst, Queens, hold a deep history: It’s the site of a burial ground where hundreds of formerly enslaved people built one of the city’s first Black neighborhoods, Newtown.
Advocates are urging the City to step in and preserve the land to honor those resting here and to educate future generations about their stories.
In total, about 300 Newtown residents are buried at the site. The plot of land has had several owners over the years, and the burial ground was eventually paved over.
“The Black men and women buried here were born slaves but died free,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards on Friday.
“They achieved their freedom in their earthly life, but in death their memories have been shackled underground by time and forgotten by those who came after them.”
Community members and elected officials want a memorial and educational center at the site.Mack Rosenberg
The borough president said the City should acquire the site immediately. “Condos shouldn't rest on my ancestors,” he said.
Kimberly Detherage, the reverend for St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church, which oversees the land but doesn’t own it, said the people buried here helped build the city.
“They made Newtown, they were a community,” Detherage said. “It ignited us as a church to learn more about our history, to learn more about the people that were buried and the contributions that they made.”
She and other community members and elected officials want a memorial and educational center at the site.
