How this New York island became a mass grave
And why Hart Island is changing after the coronavirus pandemic.
Transcript
00:01- [Narrator] About a mile
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00:19it's never been easy to access.
00:22And over the decades it's
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undefined:undefinedpotter's field for New York
00:43is a truly bitter pill to swallow.
00:46- [Narrator] In April, 2020,
00:47when the first wave of coronavirus swept
00:50through New York City,
00:51the island made national
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undefined:undefinedthousands more have been buried
01:08on Hart Island while the
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undefined:undefinedand prisoner of war camp
01:30for the Union Army.
01:31Soldiers who died were
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undefined:undefinedorganize burials for them.
01:50The first civilian burial was
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undefined:undefinedcreated the Hart Island Project,
02:04an organization that researches
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undefined:undefinedofficially started here
02:19in 1875 with over 1800
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undefined:undefinedrun by the Department of Public
02:38Charities and Correction.
02:39And when the agencies split in 1895,
02:42the Department of Correction
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undefined:undefinedthe entire island though.
02:59The city also built a hospital
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undefined:undefinedIsland burial process
03:27hasn't changed much since the 1800s.
03:30After a death, the office
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undefined:undefinedpine caskets from the ferry,
03:45dig a trench and either place it next to
03:48or on top of others.
03:50Finally, it's covered in dirt and grass
03:52and its location is added to
03:54Hart Island burial records.
03:56- When I look at those images,
03:57I see a very orderly burial process.
04:00There aren't monuments that
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undefined:undefinedisland in the 1970s.
04:16It destroyed some records
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04:34in the United States.
04:35- [Narrator] New York City
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04:54or if their loved ones
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undefined:undefinedthe Department of Correction,
05:08the agency usually in
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undefined:undefinedon the DOC's inmate labor
05:24for burials instead of hiring
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undefined:undefinedrelatives, their friends.
05:48- [Narrator] Plus, grave
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undefined:undefinedskeletons along the coasts.
06:05The DOC also facilitated visitation
06:07to the grave sites,
06:09but hasn't made it easy to visit.
06:11The island is only accessible by ferry
06:14and the DOC only allowed
06:15a few visitor appointments per month.
06:17All of this is why today Hart Island's
06:20dark reputation persists.
06:22- I sort of feel that the city,
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undefined:undefinedburials on Hart Island.
06:45In 2020, there were over 2000.
06:50One of these people was Roderick Paulus,
06:52a postal worker and toy collector
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undefined:undefinednever really hear him fatigued.
07:10He's always upbeat, happy, charismatic.
07:14But this day he sounded a little tired.
07:16He was coughing and he
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undefined:undefinedfamily in the US so he always
07:52referred to Anita as his next of kin.
07:55- Roderick became more than a friend,
07:56Roderick became a brother to my family.
07:59He was like my mother's son she never had,
08:02he became godfather to my children.
08:05- [Narrator] Detectives
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08:21So for me, it was heartbreaking.
08:23It was my biggest fear come true.
08:28- [Narrator] A closer look at the data
08:30reveals a pattern of who was sent
08:31to Hart Island during the pandemic.
08:33These neighborhoods sent the most people
08:35to Hart Island in 2020.
08:37Some of them had the highest
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08:51on Hart Island.
08:53Roughly one in 10 of New York
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undefined:undefinedbefore New York City
09:22became the US coronavirus epicenter,
09:24Mayor De Blasio began
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undefined:undefinedwith landscaping companies
09:38and federal agencies to address erosion
09:41and keep cemetery grounds
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undefined:undefinedplace for grieving loved ones.
09:53- So there's no reason
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undefined:undefinedto go to say goodbye.
10:18But right now I know for a fact,
10:21my place is Hart Island
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