A labeled map outlines an island parks vision pillars: visitor experience, ecology, resilience, and operations, with icons marking areas for circulation, remembrance walk, shoreline stabilization, and restoration projects. Two people walk along a riverside path lined with trees and flowers. Others sit or walk nearby. A modern building with a green roof stands to the left, with water and distant industrial structures in the background. A man and a child walk hand-in-hand along a tree-lined path by the water, with other people strolling, taking photos, and sitting on benches in a peaceful, sunny park. A peaceful cemetery with rows of white headstones on green grass, scattered trees, a flock of birds in the sky, a person taking a photo, and another person sitting alone on a bench along a path. A woman sits on a bench reading to a child in a green park, while people walk and bike near a partially constructed or ruined brick building with exposed framing and no roof. A sequence of four island maps shows its transformation: from a natural land bridge, to a 19th-century military site, to mid-20th-century institutional use, and to present-day parkland with cemeteries and tours.

Hart Island Concept Plan

Project Type

Cultural & CivicSustainability

Completion

Ongoing

Location

Long Island Sound, NYC

Client

NYC Department of Parks & Recreation

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.

Press

“Starr Whitehouse’s Hart Island concept plan released by New York City Department of Parks & Recreation,” The Architect's Newspaper, July 2025

COLLABORATORS

Landscape Architect: Starr Whitehouse

Related Projects

East Shore Shoreline Parks Plan9/11 Tribute Visitor Center