Hart Island Concept Plan

BKSK Architects and Starr Whitehouse are leading a team to develop a 20-year master plan for Hart Island, New York City’s public cemetery, in partnership with the NYC Parks Department. Following the island’s transfer to Parks in 2021, the initiative aims to create a more accessible and respectful place for reflection and remembrance. The concept plan envisions landscape improvements, visitor amenities, and ecological enhancements, including a new Welcome Center with restrooms and seating, the adaptive reuse of the historic chapel for quiet contemplation, and environmental projects to stabilize the shoreline and protect natural habitats. A proposed “Remembrance Walk” will offer visitors a serene path through the island’s landscape, reinforcing its role as a place of memory and peace.