New York Citys Hart Island

The story of the nation’s largest mass graveyard and the nearly one million people buried there—based on new documents and advances in DNA technology. Once a Civil War prison and training site and later a psychiatric hospital, among other incarnations, Hart Island, just off the coast of the Bronx in the Long Island Sound, eventually became the repository for New York City’s unclaimed dead. The island’s mass graves are a microcosm of New York history, from the 1822 burial crisis to casualties of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and victims of multiple epidemics. Among the indigent and forgotten, important artists who died in poverty have also been discovered to be interred there, including Disney star Bobby Driscoll and playwright Leo Birinski. In this wide-ranging exploration touching on many aspects of the city’s past, Michael T. Keene reveals the history of New York’s potter’s field—and the stories of some of its lost souls. Includes photographs

Hart Island is a place outside the vision and minds of most New Yorkers, even those who have family buried there. It represents the ultimate melting pot, a place where individual lives are blended beyond recognition. Melinda Hunt

Just off the coast of the Bronx in Long Island Sound sits Hart Island, where more than one million bodies are buried in unmarked graves. Beginning as a Civil War prison and training site and later a psychiatric hospital, the location became the repository for New York City�s unclaimed dead. The island�s mass graves are a microcosm of New York history, from the 1822 burial crisis to casualties of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and victims of the AIDS epidemic. Important artists who died in poverty have been discovered, including Disney star Bobby Driscol and playwright Leo Birinski. Author Michael T. Keene reveals the history of New York�s potter�s field and the stories of some of its lost souls.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Trinity Church graveyard on Manhattan was the largest in the Western Hemisphere by the early 1800s. The church and graveyard were covered in quicklime to speed up the decomposition of the bodies, but the smell was still overpowering. #2 New York City was facing an unprecedented crisis at an unprecedented speed. The city began to bury its indigent dead in potter’s fields outside the city limits in what is now Washington Square Park and Bryant Square. #3 In 1878, Green-Wood Cemetery was developed in Brooklyn by David Bates Douglass. It was modeled after Mount Auburn in Boston and Laurel Hill in Philadelphia. It charged for burials, which angered city officials. #4 Hart Island is the largest potter’s field in America. It was originally named Heart Island because of its general shape, which resembled a human heart. Other reports claim that the island was named after deer hunted there.

“A well-written and comprehensive tale . . . a lively history of the people and events that forged modern-day New York City.”—The Urban Audubon Experience a seldom-seen New York City with journalists and NYC natives Sharon Seitz and Stuart Miller as they show you the 42 islands in this city’s diverse archipelago. Within the city’s boundaries there are dozens of islands—some famous, like Ellis, some infamous, like Rikers, and others forgotten, like North Brother, where Typhoid Mary spent nearly 30 years in confinement. While the spotlight often falls on the museums, trends, and restaurants of Manhattan, the city’s other islands have vivid and intriguing stories to tell. They offer the day-tripper everything from nature trails to military garrisons. This detailed guide and comprehensive history will give you a sense of how New York City’s politics, population, and landscape have evolved over the last several centuries through the prism of its islands. Full of practical information on how to reach each island, what you’ll see there, and colorful stories, facts, and legends, The Other Islands of New York City is much more than a travel guide.

A long poem about contemporary New York ponders self and society in poetry, politics, and the polis

Just off the coast of the Bronx in Long Island Sound sits Hart Island, where more than one million bodies are buried in unmarked graves. Beginning as a Civil War prison and training site and later a psychiatric hospital, the location became the repository for New York City�s unclaimed dead. The island�s mass graves are a microcosm of New York history, from the 1822 burial crisis to casualties of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and victims of the AIDS epidemic. Important artists who died in poverty have been discovered, including Disney star Bobby Driscol and playwright Leo Birinski. Author Michael T. Keene reveals the history of New York�s potter�s field and the stories of some of its lost souls.

Publisher Description