On December 3, 2014, three women with relatives buried in a mass grave of more than one million deceased individuals on New York City’s Hart Island filed this class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation, the plaintiffs asked the court for declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief, claiming violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and Sections 3, 6, and 8 of Article I of the New York State Constitution. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that New York City’s policy barred people from visiting the graves of relatives buried on the island, only allowing them to visit a “gazebo” on the edge of Hart Island. The “gazebo” is out of sight of the graves and visitors were not permitted to leave sentimental items like flowers.
The case was assigned to District Judge Vernon S. Broderick. On September 28, 2015, the court granted class certification, defining the class as: "All parents, step-parents, children (biological or adopted), stepchildren, spouses, siblings, step-siblings, half-siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, first cousins, second cousins, legal guardians of deceased individuals buried on Hart Island; wards of deceased guardians buried on Hart Island; and domestic partners of deceased individuals buried on Hart Island, who wish to visit the gravesites of said deceased individuals."
On February 19, 2016, the parties agreed to a settlement. The City of New York agreed to provide the plaintiff class with ferry transportation to and from Hart Island, and access to the gravesites of their family members, on at least one weekend day per month. Visitors to the gravesite would be allowed to leave certain sentimental items, like flowers, small stuffed animals, and photographs, at the grave site. The City of New York also agreed to pay the plaintiff attorneys’ fees and costs totalling $58,645.00.
In December 2016, the parties met and conferred regarding the settlement and agreed to increase the maximum number of visitors able to visit the gravesites during each visitation period from 25 to 35. The court approved the amended stipulation on January 24, 2017. The court continued to retain jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the settlement agreement until December 1, 2018. The case is now closed.
Lauren Shepard - 06/01/2016
Sean Mulloy - 11/06/2017
Michael Beech - 03/24/2019
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