Iran Press/America: The large refrigerated trailers lined up on Brooklyn’s 39th Street Pier hide a heartbreak that fully came to light only this week.
There are 750 bodies inside, in what some City Council members call appalling and secret long-term storage, amounting, they say, to shocking neglect and mismanagement.
Most of the families of those in cold storage have told the city they would prefer to have their loved ones moved to Hart Island, the city’s potter’s field — or they have stopped “engaging” with officials entirely, Maniotis said, making it likely the bodies will end up on Hart Island.
City Council committee members demanded to know the reason for the delays and why the bodies are not properly laid to rest in the city’s potter’s field on Hart Island, even in a temporary way, allowing them to be moved at a later time if needed.
“Why do we have these temporary storage facilities?” asked City Councilmember Mark Gjonaj, a Democrat whose largely Bronx district includes Hart Island. “If there is capacity and those families have already expressed the willingness to have their loved ones buried in a public burial at Hart Island, why are we delaying that any longer than we have to?”
The city’s Human Resources Administration is evaluating bids to operate Hart Island through the Department of Parks and Recreation, after years of stewardship by the Department of Correction.
HRA said it couldn’t disclose any additional details about the bids, which closed on March 5. Trips to Hart Island, which will be open to the public, are set to resume May 15. There are plans for about 20 trips a month, each capped at 10 people, according to the city.
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