Site of historic African burial ground in Queens sits neglected, community members say

A mostly vacant parking lot in Elmhurst, Queens, is at the center of controversy. The site used to be a historic African burial ground, but now weeds and trash fill the lot.

It was once part of St. Mark AME Church, which has since moved to a new location in Jackson Heights.

Hundreds are estimated to be buried on the site. Many had been enslaved.

In 2011, new property owners had just begun construction on condos at the site when a woman's iron casket was discovered. Archaeologists later dated it to the 1800s.

"This was the only burial ground for free Black people for a good 60, 70 years," Elmhurst resident Marc Landas said. "They deserve to be remembered ... not forgotten and swept away, and definitely not plowed over."

Over the past 15 years, the property owner has remained the same – 90 Queens LLC.

The Rev. Kimberly L. Detherage said those property owners were on board with a plan in 2020 to properly memorialize the site, but they disappeared in 2021.

"We trusted them, and there were plans. There were architectural plans," she said. "I have his number. And when I called him, guess what he did? He hung up on me."

When CBS News New York tried to enter the lot, employees said they were on the phone with the owner.

"He doesn't want you to be here," an employee said.

Back in 2018 when CBS News New York tried to contact 90 Queens LLC, no one was in the office and no one responded to our message.

The Department of Buildings said seven violations had been issued to the owner, who was then forced to sign a stipulation in August to remove all of the vehicles and illegal commercial activity from the lot by Nov. 30.

A City Hall spokesperson added, "We are prepared to take additional action if they fail to live up to that agreement."

"The only thing that is left to do is to rely upon the city or public acquisition," said Peggy King Jorde, a global expert on African burial ground memorialization. "Not only are these sites sacred ground, they are revolutionary sites where Black people engaged in reclaiming their humanity."

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards planned to hold a press conference at the site on Friday to demand further action, but it has been postponed "due to unforeseen circumstances," the borough president's office said in a statement. A rescheduled date has not yet been set.

CBS News New York identified ourselves in multiple conversations with people claiming to be current or former employees of 90 Queens LLC, requesting in each instance that we be put in touch with the owner. Those attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, and the owner never made contact.