4711 90th St Elmhurst Queens Burial Ground Location
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4711 90th St Elmhurst Queens Burial Ground Location
A historic burial ground in Elmhurst, Queens, believed to contain the remains of more than 300 New Yorkers, many of whom were formerly enslaved, is at the center of a state legal effort as the property approaches a foreclosure sale. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to intervene in the case involving 47-11 90th Street so prospective buyers are informed about the human remains and their responsibilities under state burial-site protections. The property’s history as a burial ground dates to 1818 and is connected to the United African Society of Newtown, which later became St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church. State officials are seeking safeguards intended to prevent additional disturbance of remains still believed to be at the site.
Attorney General James Moves to Protect Historic Burial Ground for Formerly Enslaved New Yorkers in Queens
OAG Seeks Court Order Requiring Notice to Buyers of Human Remains as Elmhurst Property Heads to Foreclosure Auction
New York Attorney General Letitia James today moved to protect a historic burial ground for formerly enslaved people in Elmhurst, Queens from further disturbance as the property heads toward a court-ordered foreclosure sale. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) filed a motion to intervene in a pending foreclosure action concerning the property at 47-11 90th Street, seeking a court order that would require any prospective buyer to be notified of the human remains at the site and their legal obligations to protect them before they can take ownership.
"Every New Yorker deserves to rest in peace, and that includes the people buried on this land generations ago," said Attorney General James. "My office will not allow a foreclosure sale to become yet another disrespectful event in this burial ground’s unjustly troubled history. We are going to court to make sure whoever buys this property knows exactly who is buried there and is aware of their legal obligation to protect them."
The burial ground dates back to 1818, nine years before New York state completed its gradual abolition of slavery. As more enslaved New Yorkers gained their freedom, communities of Black New Yorkers began to grow throughout the city and state. One such enclave was called Newtown, located in what is now Elmhurst, Queens. In 1828, one year after slavery was fully abolished, a group of freed slaves formed the United African Society of Newtown, building a church and formalizing a local burial ground that had been informally used for the previous decade. That group later became St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, which owned the property until it was sold when the church moved to Jackson Heights in the 1930s. More than 300 New Yorkers were believed to have been buried on the site, many of whom were formerly enslaved. The burial ground was eventually forgotten until at least 2006, when the City of New York placed restrictive declarations on the site to protect those buried there.
Despite that history, the site has repeatedly been disturbed by development activities. In 2011, construction workers preparing to build condominiums on the property uncovered a woman's iron casket, which archaeologists later dated to the 1800s. That project was eventually halted. In 2025, however, the current owner, 90 Queens, Inc., allowed the property to be paved over and used to store old cars and other debris. The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) deemed it illegal and ordered the parking lot to shut down, issuing multiple violations against the owner, including for illegal use as a parking and storage lot, unsafe conditions, and an excessive accumulation of tires.
Several years ago, 90 Queens, Inc. defaulted on its mortgage, and the party who later acquired that mortgage, 90 Street Realty, LLC, is now proceeding with a foreclosure action against the property. A court-appointed referee is expected to sell the property at public auction. While some of the human remains have already been removed from the site, many additional remains have not yet been excavated and could be at further risk of disturbance.
New York's Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act, enacted in 2023, makes it illegal for anyone who discovers a burial site to remove, relocate, handle, or otherwise disturb human remains found there until specific legal procedures for identifying and notifying descendants and culturally affiliated groups are completed. The attorney general is expressly authorized to take legal action against anyone who violates the law, which carries potential criminal penalties.
In today's filing, Attorney General James is seeking to intervene in the foreclosure action to ensure the Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act is followed and the required identification and notification processes continue regardless of who ultimately owns the property. Given prior disturbances at the property, Attorney General James is concerned that without intervention, prospective buyers could take ownership with no notice that they would be legally responsible for protecting and properly handling the human remains on the land. She is asking the court to order that, if a foreclosure sale proceeds, the referee overseeing the auction include a copy of OAG’s motion and the text of the burial site law in the materials provided to every prospective buyer.
Attorney General James believes the requested notice will ensure prospective buyers respect the human remains buried at the site and understand the legal obligations that come with owning an unmarked burial ground. She hopes to prevent the burial ground from being forgotten once more, and ensure the processes required under the Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act are carried out.
This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Joel J. Terragnoli under the supervision of Affirmative Section Chief Rachel Maman Kish and Deputy Bureau Chief Monica Wagner, all of the Environmental Protection Bureau. The Environmental Protection Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Lemuel M. Srolovic and is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux.
