Every month, a small ferry departs from City Island in the Bronx, making its way to a place most New Yorkers never see — Hart Island. Aboard the vessel are families visiting the graves of their loved ones on the milelong isle, a site that’s long been shrouded in mystery and stigma. Known as New York City’s public burial ground, Hart Island is the final resting place for more than 1 million souls who died in poverty or were homeless, their bodies unclaimed, or during epidemics like AIDS in the 1980s and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic — many of them buried in unmarked mass graves. The island largely remained out of reach until last year. But a new city initiative is now allowing New Yorkers to experience Hart’s rich history. For decades, the location was under the control of the New York City Department of Correction and visitation was limited. Graves on Hart Island are seen from a recent boat ride to the spot, which is located in the Bronx. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) But in 2021, that jurisdiction shifted to the city’s Parks Department, opening up the island to grieving families and the curious public alike. Parks offers two guided tours every month on Tuesdays for the public. More than 500 visitors have taken the tours since they started last November. “Our programs aim to destigmatize Hart Island and shed light on its true history,” explained Michael Whitten, an urban park ranger. “For a long time, the island was isolated not only physically but also in terms of access.” A field of graves is pictured on Hart Island Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) Since the 19th century, the spot has served many purposes for the city — as a public cemetery, a quarantine station for yellow fever outbreaks, a psychiatric hospital, a tuberculosis ward, a reform school, a homeless shelter, a rehabilitation facility, a military base and a jail. The first burial here, in 1869, was of a woman named Louise Van Slyke who died of tuberculosis. The unstable structure of a chapel is pictured on Hart Island. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) Members of the 31st New York Regiment trained on the island, going on to see action in some of the crucial battles of the Civil War. “There was a Battle of the Crater [they were in], as well as … the Battle of Appomattox,” said Whitten while standing inside a former burial area for Civil War soldiers. “They helped to cut off Lee’s retreat, ultimately forcing him to surrender to Gen. Grant, ultimately ending the American Civil War.” Urban Park Ranger Michael Whitten describes a memorial to fallen members of New York State’s three regiments of African-American soldiers who served in the Civil War during a tour of Hart Island. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) Before the city acquired the land in 1868, it was privately owned by the Pell and Hunter families. In earlier times, the native Lenape used the area for fishing. The island’s name doesn’t have a clear origin, but it might come from the deer that once roamed there — “hart” is another word for deer — or from the heart-like shape of the island’s northern part. Today, Hart Island continues to serve as the city’s potter’s field. The guided tours reveal Hart Island’s past through stories of inmates who performed the burials. Visitors are also introduced to historical landmarks, such as a decommissioned Nike missile silo from the Cold War and the Peace Monument, a tribute built by inmates in 1946. The site of a former Nike anti-ballistic missile silo from the Cold War era on Hart Island. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) Hart Island also opens its gates Saturdays and Sundays on select weekends for families to visit the resting places of their loved ones. For those seeking the graves of relatives lost to poverty, illness or circumstances beyond their control, the visits are often bittersweet. “We’ve had people cry, people express relief, and many talk about needing closure,” Sgt. Marrero of the island’s Honor Guard Unit. A cross in the middle of a field of graves on Hart Island in the Bronx. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) Honor guards, focused on ensuring the visits are as smooth and supportive as possible, welcome families as they step ashore from the ferry. A potter’s field marker on Hart Island. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) One tour covers the island’s northern end and the other visits the southern end. Visitors on the former are introduced to the place’s institutional past, with remainders of the workhouses and asylums. The southern tours focus on more contemporary burials, including AIDS and COVID-19 victims. A monument for victims of global pandemics on Hart Island. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) The city’s Human Resources Administration is now responsible for the island’s maintenance and burial operations. Each year, the city continues to do more than 1,000 interments on Hart Island. In 2022, more than 500 people visited their loved ones buried here, with the number growing to 600 last year. Grave markers dot the island. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) “We want to honor those buried here, not just as numbers in a ledger, but as people with stories, with lives that mattered,” Whitten said. “Whether they died of AIDS, COVID-19 or were simply forgotten by the world, Hart Island serves as a reminder of their existence.” A master plan currently in the works for Hart Island is set to be finalized this year after public input. But not much is expected to change in the way it operates today. The plan covers visitor experience, climate resilience, natural ecology and operations. Mitchel Loring, a New York City Parks Department project administrator, speaks about plans for Hart Island during an island tour on Sept. 10. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News) “Our vision for the island is for it to remain the city’s public cemetery,” said Mitchel Loring, Parks Department project administrator for planning and policy. “This is an essential city service that needs to continue, while also improving the visitor experience, the ability for the public to understand what happened here in the past and how the island’s rich, various uses have happened over the centuries.”