Map and Preserve Enslaved African American Burial Sites
Enacted on Oct 26, 2026
Signed into Law
Local Law 2026/149
✦ Plain-Language Summary
This law would require the city to find, record, and map all known and unmarked burial sites of enslaved African Americans across NYC. The Department of Cultural Affairs would notify local elected officials when a burial site is found in their district. The city would also launch an educational campaign so all New Yorkers can learn about these historic sites.
The story behind this bill
Why it was introduced
Sponsors said burial sites of formerly enslaved African Americans across the city have been paved over, forgotten, or built on, like Cherry Lane Cemetery on Staten Island and the Flatbush African Burial Ground in Brooklyn. The bill responds to the lack of a citywide list or map documenting these sites so they can be identified and protected before they are lost.
At the hearings
Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Relations · 2026-05-13
The committee held an oversight hearing on Juneteenth and African American burial sites alongside hearing the bill. Scholars, advocates, and a library official spoke in support; DCLA testified but raised doubts about its own ability to lead the work.
In support
- Council Member Hanks (sponsor): Burial grounds are sacred places erased or paved over, like Cherry Lane Cemetery, and deserve dignity and recognition.
- Council Member Joseph (co-sponsor): The Flatbush African Burial Ground in her district shows the city must do more to preserve and memorialize such sites.
- Public Advocate Jumaane Williams: The bill is a vital step to make the city proactively account for burial sites and teach the true history of slavery in NYC.
- Archaeologists Dr. Reilly, Herbert Seignoret, Dr. Meade, Dr. Lans: Supported the bill's goals but urged expert and community collaboration, noting most such sites were destroyed and undocumented.
- Heather Quinlan (Northeast Corridor Freedom Network) and Judith Insell (Bronx Arts Ensemble): Testified in support, describing erased histories at Cherry Lane Cemetery and Van Cortlandt Park burial ground.
Raised concerns
- Dr. Matthew Reilly (archaeologist, PANYC): Recommended the Landmarks Preservation Commission, not DCLA, manage the lists given its existing expertise.
- Dr. Elizabeth Meade (archaeologist): Warned that publicizing unmarked sites could risk looting or vandalism in some cases.
- Dr. Aja Lans (anthropologist): Urged broadening the bill beyond enslavement-era sites to cover Black cemeteries generally.
- Deputy Commissioner Alton Murray (DCLA): Said DCLA is primarily a funding agency lacking expertise to lead identification and preservation of burial sites.
City agencies: DCLA testified it supports the bill's goals but said it is not the best-equipped agency to lead this work, citing its role as primarily a funder rather than a historical preservation agency.
“Across New York City, African burial grounds connected to formerly enslaved Black New Yorkers have too often been erased, neglected, or forgotten.”
“The City That Never Sleeps was quite literally constructed on top of the bones of those whose stolen labor built it.”
“We are primarily a funding agency, and we do not have the in-depth expertise or resources to oversee this kind of historical landmark assessment with the care and precision it deserves and demands.”
Show 1 more hearing
Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Relations · 2026-09-10
After amendments shifting responsibility to a records agency, the committee quickly approved the revised bill without debate, alongside several resolutions, and sent it to the full Council.
In support
- Council Member Hanks (sponsor): Said the bill is one important step so the city will not erase these New Yorkers from shared memory.
- Chair Williams: Noted the bill's relevance given a recent news report of a burial site paved over in Queens.
“New York cannot tell its complete story while the resting places of people remain unseen.”
How it turned out
The Council approved the amended bill 50-1 on September 10, 2026, and sent it to the Mayor. The Mayor returned it unsigned on October 13, 2026, and the City Charter rule that bills become law without signature after 30 days took effect October 10, 2026, so the bill was enacted despite lacking the Mayor's signature.
What changed along the way
- Responsibility shifted from the Department of Cultural Affairs to the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS)
- Added definitions for terms like 'burial site' and 'historical African American burial site'
- Removed requirement to place a historical marker at each identified site
- Required the report to include site condition, ownership, and historical significance details
- Allowed the Commissioner to omit a site from public materials if inclusion risked vandalism or looting, with notice to the Council and Borough Presidents
- Changed the report deadline from 6 months after effective date to March 1, 2028
What the record doesn’t say
- The documents do not explain why the Mayor returned the bill unsigned rather than signing or vetoing it.
- The record does not say why the Council did not simply authorize DCLA to continue, despite DCLA's own uncertainty about which agency should lead, before settling on DORIS.
- The transcripts do not explain why the 9/10/26 committee vote proceeded without further discussion of the concerns raised in May, such as the looting/vandalism risk or PANYC's recommendation that Landmarks Preservation Commission lead the work.
Sources
- Memorandum in Support
- Fiscal Impact Statement- City Council
- Committee Report 5/13/26
- Hearing Transcript 5/13/26
- Proposed Int. No. 220-A Fiscal Impact Statement - City Council
- Committee Report 9/10/26
- Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 9-10-26
- Hearing Transcript 9/10/26
Written by AI from official Council records. Votes and status come from the record; quotes are checked word for word against the official hearing transcripts.
Details
- Introduced
- Jan 29, 2026
- Passed Council
- Oct 10, 2026
- Enacted
- Oct 10, 2026
- Body
- Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Relations
- Type
- Introduction
- Status
- Enacted
Sponsors (19)
Official Description
This bill would require the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), in consultation with other city agencies, organizations and experts, to provide a report to the public about historical African American burial sites. The report would be required to include a list of all known burial sites historically associated with formerly enslaved persons or historically African American communities citywide, along with certain information about each site. The report would also include a plan to locate any currently unmarked historical African American burial sites citywide. It would also include recommendations for the preservation or commemoration of the burial sites as well as recommendations for sources of potential resources or support to preserve the sites, including from state or federal historic preservation programs. This bill would also require DORIS to notify elected officials and community boards when a burial site has been located in their district. Finally, this bill would require DORIS to make educational materials available to City residents about the burial sites and develop and maintain an interactive online map of the burial sites.