Saturday, August 19, 2017

State Tells City to Dig Deeper to Unearth Possible Slave Remains in Gowanus


GOWANUS — The state recommended Thursday that the city dig deeper into the soil of a proposed Gowanus pre-kindergarten site that may hold the remains of slaves and Revolutionary War soldiers.

On Thursday, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation sent the city's School Construction Authority a letter revealing it had discovered traces of a 19th century cistern and well during a recent survey. It now recommends the agency excavate further at the Ninth Street lot, a Department of Education official said Friday. 

It is now up to the city to decide if it will follow the the state's recommendation.

"We cannot desecrate this burial ground," state Sen. Jesse Hamilton said at a Thursday press conference held on the matter before the public learned of the state's new stance. "I know we need to build a school to alleviate overcrowding, but we can’t build a school on a foundation of ignorance."

Click here for the full article.

Source: dnainfo.com

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