To ease overcrowding in Park Slope’s public elementary schools, the city is currently scoping out a space for a new Brooklyn public school. But the vacant lot being considered may be a historic graveyard, Brownstoner reported.
Located between 8th and 9th streets, off Third Avenue, in Gowanus, the site is thought by some to be the burial site for First Maryland Regiment soldiers who died in the Battle of Brooklyn during the Revolutionary War.
Brownstoner confirmed that the New York City School Construction Authority is now taking a preliminary look at the site. The authority has reportedly taken soil samples to see if they are of historical interest.
Local preservationists hope to turn the lot into a park or to designate it a Federal Historic Landmark.
Nearby in Park Slope, redistricting aimed to alleviate school overcrowding — and thus necessitating a new public elementary school be built — is causing concern over property values. — Zachary Kussin