Just a 10-minute ferry ride from City Island, Hart Island is home to the remains of more than one million New Yorkers. The 101-acre island in the Long Island Sound has served as the city’s public cemetery for the unclaimed, unidentified and poor for more than 150 years.
But after remaining largely inaccessible to the public for much of its history, the city is working to open Hart Island to more visitors — a plan that could cost roughly $130 million. As the NYC Parks department expands public tours and visitation, the agency is seeking funding for capital projects aimed at preserving the island’s historic structures and improving visitor access.
