What's The Story?

Off the New York's Bronx coastline is an island that is home to the remains of over 1 million people.There are no gravestones, no memorial services and you cannot attend funerals there. Each grave contains 150 people, pine box caskets are stacked three-high and two-deep as they fill the giant holes with little room to spare. Hart Island is the world's largest publicly funded cemetery, and for years it has been shrouded in secrecy and associated with the poor, criminals, insane, and diseased. But is the more Hart Island and is it as dark and sinister as some press reports have portrayed it?  Since 1994, The Hart Island Project has independently assisted families in obtaining copies of public burial records. The group also helps people track down loved ones and negotiate visits. The Hart Island Project was founded by New York artist Melinda Hunt in an effort to aid the loved ones of the dead buried on Hart Island.