New Yorkers with loved ones buried at the city’s public cemetery on Hart Island say they want their gravesites protected and a voice in the process as officials look to increase access to the long-isolated Bronx isle.

Lawmakers and members of the public discussed the future of the mile-long island, which has served as the city’s final resting place for poor and unclaimed residents for over a century, at a City Council hearing Thursday. Families testified that decisions about Hart Island remain opaque even as the city embarks on an ambitious 20-year overhaul and conditions have improved since the parks department took over the island’s management from jail officials in 2021.

Relatives urged councilmembers to preserve the dignity of those buried at the cemetery, allow more frequent g

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