WEBVTT - The Unmarked Graveyard from Radio Diaries

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin. Hey listeners, we're sharing an episode today from the

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<v Speaker 1>Unmarked Graveyard, a new series from our friends at the

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<v Speaker 1>Radio Diaries podcast. The series tells the stories of people

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<v Speaker 1>buried in America's largest public cemetery, New York City's Heart Island.

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<v Speaker 1>I think anyone who loves The Last Archive is going

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<v Speaker 1>to love these stories, personal narratives that tell the history

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<v Speaker 1>of a place that's largely off limits to the public

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<v Speaker 1>and full of secrets. As a New Yorker, I've always

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<v Speaker 1>wondered about it, and I loved this series because of

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<v Speaker 1>how attentively it brings these forgotten histories to life. It's

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<v Speaker 1>really beautifully done, So please give it a listen, and

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<v Speaker 1>if you like this story, check out the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the series on the Radio Diaries podcast. Here's the episode.

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<v Speaker 2>In twenty seventeen, a man was buried on a narrow

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<v Speaker 2>mile long island off the coast of the Bronx, New

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<v Speaker 2>York City. He'd been dead for months, but the city

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<v Speaker 2>hadn't figured out his name, so he was placed in

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<v Speaker 2>a simple pine coffin that was stacked in a mass grave.

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<v Speaker 2>The only marker was a white post that read plot

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<v Speaker 2>three eighty three. Since eighteen sixty nine, more than a

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<v Speaker 2>million people have been buried on Hart Island. It doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>look like a typical cemetery. There are no headstones or plaques,

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<v Speaker 2>just white posts with numbers on them. Each one marks

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<v Speaker 2>a trench with about one hundred and fifty coffins inside.

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<v Speaker 2>There's a broad range of people buried here, people whose

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<v Speaker 2>families couldn't afford a private burial, people who couldn't be identified,

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<v Speaker 2>and people who died in various waves of epidemics that

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<v Speaker 2>swept the city. In the nineteen eighties, it was AIDS

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<v Speaker 2>and most recently COVID nineteen, but for more than a century,

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<v Speaker 2>Heart Island has been mostly off limits. This is the

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<v Speaker 2>Unmarked Graveyard. New series from Radiodiaries, Where were untangling mysteries

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<v Speaker 2>from Heart Island, America's largest public cemetery.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Joe Richmond.

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<v Speaker 2>Over the next several weeks, We'll be bringing you stories

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<v Speaker 2>about people who ended up on Heart Island, the lives

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<v Speaker 2>they lived, and the people they left behind.

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<v Speaker 3>There were thousands of questions, where's his family, where's his people?

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<v Speaker 4>Did he?

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<v Speaker 3>Playwright, novelist and author of Happy Island, Miss Dawn Powell.

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<v Speaker 5>Uncle Caesar was strange from our family forty to fifty years.

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<v Speaker 4>You can't help but wonder what her life has been.

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<v Speaker 3>I never went back and I never looked.

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<v Speaker 2>Awe him again. Today episode one, it's about the unidentified

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<v Speaker 2>man buried in plot three eighty three. At the time

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<v Speaker 2>he was buried, he actually had several people looking for him.

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<v Speaker 2>He had lived two lives, in different places and under

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<v Speaker 2>different names. We begin in inwood Long Island with his mom,

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<v Speaker 2>who named him Neil.

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<v Speaker 4>My name is Susan Robert and I'm Neil Harris's mom.

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<v Speaker 4>I kept all of Neil's pictures and memorabilia. This is

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<v Speaker 4>the Neil box. This is his father. I always saved

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<v Speaker 4>the picture for Neil. Neil's father and I, unfortunately were

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<v Speaker 4>just a one night stand. But things happen, and Neil happened.

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<v Speaker 4>This was something that Neil wrote to me when he

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<v Speaker 4>was little in school. My hero is my mom because

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<v Speaker 4>she has always been there for me. She always brings

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<v Speaker 4>me and my friends to Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

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<v Speaker 4>I remember when we didn't have a home or any money,

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<v Speaker 4>and we were living with my aunt. After a while,

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<v Speaker 4>she got a job and we got a home. And

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<v Speaker 4>that's why my mom is my hero. Wife was good.

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<v Speaker 4>Then I would come home and make a little dinner

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<v Speaker 4>or whatever and redad and play a little video games.

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<v Speaker 4>It was fun. He was cuddly. This was him sleeping

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<v Speaker 4>with all the dogs, and the dogs adored him. We

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<v Speaker 4>wound up calling him Doctor Doolittle because this kid loved

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<v Speaker 4>the animals. And then as he got older, something switched.

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<v Speaker 4>It like if somebody flipped the switch on him. One night,

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<v Speaker 4>I heard him talking in his room and I thought, oh,

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<v Speaker 4>he's got somebody over. So I knocked on the door

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<v Speaker 4>and I said, who are you talking to? The ghost?

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<v Speaker 4>And I'm like, what ghost? And then he started fighting

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<v Speaker 4>and he's like, they are all over me, They're all

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<v Speaker 4>over me. And I was in my office one day

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<v Speaker 4>and came in and he's like mah, and he pushed

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<v Speaker 4>me and I went flying across the room and he said,

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<v Speaker 4>you don't think that I don't know. You're trying to

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<v Speaker 4>poison me. He had a glare like he wanted to

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<v Speaker 4>kill me. I was actually afraid of my son the

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<v Speaker 4>first time in my life, and I said, I want

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<v Speaker 4>to have him put in a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

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<v Speaker 4>He went and I spoke to the doctor and she

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<v Speaker 4>said he is schizophrenic on medication. He's fine, she said,

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<v Speaker 4>but he has asked to stop the medication, which is

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<v Speaker 4>his right, and he has asked to be released. And

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<v Speaker 4>if they sent him, he was twenty nine years old.

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<v Speaker 4>I felt helpless. I felt like there was nobody there

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<v Speaker 4>to help, nobody. And then one day he's like, I

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<v Speaker 4>want you to drop me off at the hum With

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<v Speaker 4>train station and he would sleep on the platform. When

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<v Speaker 4>we pulled into the parking lot of the Inwig train station,

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<v Speaker 4>he just got out, took his little backpack, threw it

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<v Speaker 4>over his shoulder, walked away and never looked behind. And

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<v Speaker 4>there was a cop sitting in the parking field there,

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<v Speaker 4>and I got out and I said, that's my son

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<v Speaker 4>and he wants to be here. He wants to be homeless.

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<v Speaker 4>And the cop said to me, and it's is right,

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<v Speaker 4>he said, but we'll check up on him. So I figured, okay,

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<v Speaker 4>so I'll go every week. And the first time we

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<v Speaker 4>went down, we looked and we did see him, but

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<v Speaker 4>he walked away from me. And I was like, Neil, wait,

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<v Speaker 4>I just want to give you money, and he stopped,

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<v Speaker 4>took the money, and walked away. And that was the

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<v Speaker 4>last time I saw him.

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<v Speaker 6>My name's Joy Bergman and I live on the upper

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<v Speaker 6>West side of Manhattan, and this is my dog, JJ Jay.

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<v Speaker 6>Let's go every day, JJ and I are in Riverside Park.

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<v Speaker 6>This is the bench where we would see Stephen in

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<v Speaker 6>all weather, all times of day. He'd always be sitting

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<v Speaker 6>bolt upright on the bench, big canvas rucksack at his feet,

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<v Speaker 6>same clothes, same facial expression. Yeah, JJ, you remember Stephen.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm Billy Billy Healy. I used to sit up at

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<v Speaker 3>the corner there feed my little birds. And that's when

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<v Speaker 3>I talked to him, and he told me that he

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<v Speaker 3>was from Long Island and his name was Steven. It

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<v Speaker 3>was like pulling teeth to get him to say anything.

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<v Speaker 3>He was not a talker. He didn't seem to trust

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<v Speaker 3>people much. At the time, I still wasn't sure if

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<v Speaker 3>he was sleeping in the park because I see him

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<v Speaker 3>sitting on the bench every day with his knapsack, but

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<v Speaker 3>I never saw him sleep. So I called the Outreach

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<v Speaker 3>for the Homeless. They went to talk to him and

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<v Speaker 3>they told me Steven doesn't want any help.

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<v Speaker 6>It was always kind of reassuring to see him because

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<v Speaker 6>he was such a big guy and so gentle in

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<v Speaker 6>his presence. He was a constant presence in the park,

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<v Speaker 6>but a mysterious one. Couldn't quite figure out where he

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<v Speaker 6>was from, what he was doing here, and why he

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<v Speaker 6>just never left.

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<v Speaker 4>Neil Harris was last seen and Inwood, New York, on

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<v Speaker 4>December twelfth, twenty fourteen. He was last seen wearing a

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<v Speaker 4>tan Carhart jacket but I could eat blue jeans, tan

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<v Speaker 4>work boots and a backpack. If you have seen or

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<v Speaker 4>no Nils whereabout. This was a missing person's flyer that

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<v Speaker 4>we made and that went out every week every week

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<v Speaker 4>like clockwork on Mondays Monday morning, on every social media

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<v Speaker 4>platform that I could get my hands on. It went out,

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<v Speaker 4>and then a year went by nothing and then another

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<v Speaker 4>year still nothing.

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<v Speaker 6>After about maybe a year of seeing him in the park,

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<v Speaker 6>I was going to recycle some magazines or something one

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<v Speaker 6>day and I said, oh, maybe I'll bring him to

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<v Speaker 6>the guy in the park. Maybe like something to look at.

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<v Speaker 6>So I would bring him periodically bags of magazines and

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<v Speaker 6>I would see him as I walked away start looking

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<v Speaker 6>through them with interest. He never said thank you. He

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<v Speaker 6>just kind of gave me a half nod as I

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<v Speaker 6>would approach.

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<v Speaker 3>After seeing him for so long, and seeing there were

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<v Speaker 3>some needy things, I told them, Oh, do you like

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<v Speaker 3>pork ribs or do you like potato salad? I would

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<v Speaker 3>ask him and he would say yes. So my wife

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<v Speaker 3>would put something in the microwave of leftovers, and I

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<v Speaker 3>would bring him a plastic container with a fog. And

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<v Speaker 3>when it got real cold, I brought him a winter

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<v Speaker 3>coat and he said, oh, no, I don't want When

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<v Speaker 3>I have one in my pack, I said, do you

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<v Speaker 3>like this? And I was wearing a burgundy hoodie and

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<v Speaker 3>it had like fake fur inside or something. It was long,

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<v Speaker 3>and he said, yeah, I like that. So he wore

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<v Speaker 3>it for two years that.

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<v Speaker 1>I know of.

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<v Speaker 3>I know he died in it.

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<v Speaker 5>My name is Jim Littlefield. I was formerly a director

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<v Speaker 5>of security for the Trump Organization and ran security for

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<v Speaker 5>four condominiums on Riverside Boulevard, luxury condominiums with Broadway actresses,

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<v Speaker 5>baseball players of note. I believe it was around Easter time,

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<v Speaker 5>early spring. I pulled up that morning and parked my car,

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<v Speaker 5>and then I looked over and I noticed a backpack

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<v Speaker 5>sitting on top of like a milk crate. And then

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<v Speaker 5>I looked and I saw a person sitting down knees

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<v Speaker 5>bent and his head was hunched down, almost as if

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<v Speaker 5>in contemplative prayer. I thought, ah, maybe he's asleep, you know,

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<v Speaker 5>poor guy, and go to let him stay there? Can

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<v Speaker 5>I walk away and went to work. Next morning, I

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<v Speaker 5>came back to work and I saw he basically in

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<v Speaker 5>the same position, so I kind of yelled loud a fella,

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<v Speaker 5>you are right. He didn't budge, and at that point

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<v Speaker 5>I touched him and a seventy year old retired New

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<v Speaker 5>York City police sergeant I know what rigor mortis feels like,

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<v Speaker 5>and he was in it. This guy had reached at

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<v Speaker 5>the end of the road, called nine to one one

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<v Speaker 5>the police arrived. I was happy that I was able

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<v Speaker 5>to do what I could do, and then went to work.

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<v Speaker 5>I think I spoke to the police officer again a

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<v Speaker 5>week or two later, and I said, identify that young

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<v Speaker 5>man and he says he didn't, that he didn't think

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<v Speaker 5>anybody did at that point.

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<v Speaker 3>It was the next day I was told they found

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<v Speaker 3>him dead. Right away, I said, was it trauma? Was

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<v Speaker 3>he murdered, you know, with something bad done for him?

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<v Speaker 3>And they said, absolutely, no trauma. It looked like he

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<v Speaker 3>just had a hot attack or something.

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<v Speaker 6>After he died, people put flowers on the bench where

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<v Speaker 6>Steven would sit. They put signs up and cards. You know,

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<v Speaker 6>when you live in a big city, there's the anonymity

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<v Speaker 6>of the big city that I think we all sort

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<v Speaker 6>of treasure. But then there are the constant presences, the

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<v Speaker 6>people whose names you don't know but you see them

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<v Speaker 6>every day. The guy who sells the fruit on the corner,

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<v Speaker 6>the guy you see sweeping the sidewalk. These are people

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<v Speaker 6>that become woven into your fabric of your experience in

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<v Speaker 6>a neighborhood. And when one of them goes away, there

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<v Speaker 6>is a loss.

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<v Speaker 4>There is a loss.

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<v Speaker 3>He was a sweet young man and many people have

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<v Speaker 3>thought that about him. Rest in peace, Steven.

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<v Speaker 7>My name is Jessica Brockington and I'm a journalist. I

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<v Speaker 7>was living on seventieth Street. I have two little dogs

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<v Speaker 7>and we would walk in Riverside Park. I felt sad

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<v Speaker 7>that he had died. I felt sad that the bench

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<v Speaker 7>was empty. You know. Maybe it's a year later, a

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<v Speaker 7>year and a half, I'm looking in a database of

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<v Speaker 7>missing persons and as I'm scrolling through the photos, I

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<v Speaker 7>recognize a photo of Stephen and I thought, holy shit.

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<v Speaker 7>I know that person, and it's got a name attached

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<v Speaker 7>to it, Neil Harris Junior. So I take the name

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<v Speaker 7>and I turn around and start googling it, and I

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<v Speaker 7>find a Facebook profile. I was going through every single

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<v Speaker 7>post on that Facebook page trying to figure out who's

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<v Speaker 7>set it up. Who is Susan Hurlbert.

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<v Speaker 4>Monday July second, twenty eighteen, Still missing, still praying, I'll

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<v Speaker 4>never give up on.

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<v Speaker 7>Noticing pretty quickly that Susan Hurlbert is posting a plea

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<v Speaker 7>every Monday.

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<v Speaker 4>Monday July sixteenth, still missing, Still praying. If seeing please

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<v Speaker 4>tell him he is missing. Monday July twenty third, twenty eighteen,

0:14:43.875 --> 0:14:47.115
<v Speaker 4>still missing. Still Monday August six still missing, still.

0:14:46.915 --> 0:14:49.715
<v Speaker 7>Praying, and I'm completely obsessed with it at that point.

0:14:49.875 --> 0:14:52.195
<v Speaker 4>Help me locate my son. I will never give up

0:14:52.195 --> 0:14:52.755
<v Speaker 4>on you, Neil.

0:14:52.875 --> 0:14:55.115
<v Speaker 7>I know that the person is dead, and I know

0:14:55.195 --> 0:14:59.795
<v Speaker 7>that somewhere the New York City Police Department have information

0:14:59.955 --> 0:15:03.515
<v Speaker 7>on him that would help her. But when I talked

0:15:03.555 --> 0:15:06.715
<v Speaker 7>to the detective who had the case, he says that

0:15:06.795 --> 0:15:09.275
<v Speaker 7>he's reviewed what he has in his files and the

0:15:09.275 --> 0:15:12.915
<v Speaker 7>photos I've sent him, and he has decided that this

0:15:13.075 --> 0:15:17.755
<v Speaker 7>is not the same person. So I called the organization

0:15:18.235 --> 0:15:22.795
<v Speaker 7>that is helping Susan Harlbert put out missing persons posters

0:15:23.915 --> 0:15:25.915
<v Speaker 7>and I tell the guy I don't want to upset

0:15:25.955 --> 0:15:28.435
<v Speaker 7>her if it's not as sure as it should be.

0:15:29.435 --> 0:15:32.835
<v Speaker 7>But he turns around and calls her immediately.

0:15:32.595 --> 0:15:35.155
<v Speaker 4>And he's like, I have some information for you. Do

0:15:35.235 --> 0:15:40.155
<v Speaker 4>you know a Jessica And I'm like, Jessica, no, and

0:15:40.195 --> 0:15:42.555
<v Speaker 4>he's like, well, I think she knows where your son is.

0:15:43.035 --> 0:15:47.995
<v Speaker 4>And I was really overjoyed. And he's like, well, if

0:15:48.115 --> 0:15:54.635
<v Speaker 4>it is Neil, then he's deceased. And I'm like oh.

0:15:55.155 --> 0:15:58.315
<v Speaker 4>And she called me and she said, okay, So there's

0:15:58.355 --> 0:16:01.515
<v Speaker 4>this guy that's been sitting in Riverside Park and I'm like,

0:16:02.395 --> 0:16:06.555
<v Speaker 4>Riverside Park? Where is that? She said, in Manhattan. It's

0:16:06.595 --> 0:16:08.595
<v Speaker 4>on the West Side. I'm like, are you kidding me?

0:16:09.395 --> 0:16:15.115
<v Speaker 4>Neil never he was petrified of the city. So she said,

0:16:15.355 --> 0:16:19.035
<v Speaker 4>who's Neil. Then she's like, oh, that's right. I keep forgetting.

0:16:19.075 --> 0:16:22.075
<v Speaker 7>She said, I know this guy is Stephen. That's what

0:16:22.155 --> 0:16:23.515
<v Speaker 7>he called himself, right, And.

0:16:23.435 --> 0:16:26.875
<v Speaker 4>I'm like Steven, she said, you know, I'm just going

0:16:26.955 --> 0:16:29.395
<v Speaker 4>to tell you what I got from him. She said,

0:16:29.395 --> 0:16:31.355
<v Speaker 4>I would walk through the park I have two dogs,

0:16:32.235 --> 0:16:34.995
<v Speaker 4>and they would immediately run to him.

0:16:34.955 --> 0:16:37.635
<v Speaker 7>And he'd just reached down and started petting them and

0:16:37.715 --> 0:16:40.595
<v Speaker 7>kind of smiled and wasn't necessarily smiling at me, but

0:16:40.795 --> 0:16:42.675
<v Speaker 7>was focused on the dogs.

0:16:43.155 --> 0:16:46.715
<v Speaker 4>And I'm like, that's got to be Neil. And then

0:16:46.755 --> 0:16:49.835
<v Speaker 4>I'm like arguing within my own head, my head, you know,

0:16:49.915 --> 0:16:54.275
<v Speaker 4>saying no, no, no, and then saying maybe maybe no no, no,

0:16:54.275 --> 0:16:54.635
<v Speaker 4>no no.

0:16:55.635 --> 0:17:00.595
<v Speaker 7>And then I sent her the medical examiner's photo of

0:17:01.115 --> 0:17:04.195
<v Speaker 7>her son after his autopsy.

0:17:04.675 --> 0:17:09.715
<v Speaker 4>And the picture came up. He was more like disheveled.

0:17:10.315 --> 0:17:12.355
<v Speaker 4>I could tell like he hadn't shaven in a while.

0:17:13.635 --> 0:17:16.835
<v Speaker 4>But I know my son, and I knew as soon

0:17:16.875 --> 0:17:19.875
<v Speaker 4>as I saw that picture that was my son. I

0:17:19.875 --> 0:17:24.875
<v Speaker 4>felt like I couldn't catch my breath. He died from

0:17:24.915 --> 0:17:28.915
<v Speaker 4>an ULCA. That's what they have down on the death certificate.

0:17:38.835 --> 0:17:44.715
<v Speaker 4>Dear friends all together and dear neighbors. His real name

0:17:45.915 --> 0:17:47.475
<v Speaker 4>was Neil.

0:17:47.955 --> 0:17:50.355
<v Speaker 3>We in the neighborhood only knew him a Stephen.

0:17:50.355 --> 0:17:51.835
<v Speaker 4>That was his adoptive name.

0:17:52.875 --> 0:17:56.795
<v Speaker 7>There's a church on seventy fourth Street, a community church.

0:17:57.555 --> 0:18:01.555
<v Speaker 7>The pastors there and the congregation there also knew Stephen,

0:18:02.635 --> 0:18:08.315
<v Speaker 7>and they decided that they would have a service for him,

0:18:08.355 --> 0:18:13.755
<v Speaker 7>Susan and her family, a bunch of his friends, and

0:18:13.795 --> 0:18:15.675
<v Speaker 7>then all these people from the neighborhood came.

0:18:17.875 --> 0:18:23.435
<v Speaker 4>I walked in and looking at all these people and

0:18:23.515 --> 0:18:28.435
<v Speaker 4>I'm like, I don't know these people. Neil didn't know

0:18:28.475 --> 0:18:32.595
<v Speaker 4>these people. And I said it to my sister. I said,

0:18:32.595 --> 0:18:35.795
<v Speaker 4>you know, Neil didn't know them, and she looked at

0:18:35.875 --> 0:18:40.035
<v Speaker 4>me and she said, well, obviously he did listen to

0:18:40.075 --> 0:18:40.835
<v Speaker 4>what they're saying.

0:18:42.195 --> 0:18:44.715
<v Speaker 5>I talked to him at least two or three times

0:18:44.755 --> 0:18:45.355
<v Speaker 5>a week.

0:18:45.835 --> 0:18:46.835
<v Speaker 3>When I didn't see him.

0:18:46.875 --> 0:18:53.075
<v Speaker 5>I stopping after ray with Stephen, because he was always.

0:18:52.875 --> 0:18:55.395
<v Speaker 6>Children came up to me and said, oh, we knew him.

0:18:55.435 --> 0:18:58.075
<v Speaker 4>We said hello to him. He was after Neil no

0:18:58.275 --> 0:19:03.235
<v Speaker 4>longer occupied his sprange, like we realized in the neighborhood

0:19:03.235 --> 0:19:06.195
<v Speaker 4>how much he had become a part of the fabric

0:19:06.315 --> 0:19:11.155
<v Speaker 4>of our lives. My husband nudged me and he said,

0:19:11.195 --> 0:19:14.595
<v Speaker 4>get up there and say something. And I'm like, I

0:19:14.595 --> 0:19:18.915
<v Speaker 4>don't know what to say. I haven't that good at this,

0:19:21.395 --> 0:19:24.075
<v Speaker 4>not good, But I have to tell you, I said

0:19:24.075 --> 0:19:28.235
<v Speaker 4>it from when I first heard from Jessica. You're all angels,

0:19:28.635 --> 0:19:31.715
<v Speaker 4>every one of you who watched over my son. You

0:19:31.915 --> 0:19:35.635
<v Speaker 4>take care of them, and that was all I ever prayed.

0:19:35.315 --> 0:19:36.515
<v Speaker 1>For for four years.

0:19:37.035 --> 0:19:41.155
<v Speaker 4>There are people that really really care, even if it's

0:19:41.155 --> 0:19:49.995
<v Speaker 4>a stranger, they care. That's phenomenal. That was the only

0:19:50.115 --> 0:19:53.235
<v Speaker 4>good feeling I came out of there with, because other

0:19:53.275 --> 0:19:56.275
<v Speaker 4>than that, it was not good feelings. I was hurt

0:19:56.835 --> 0:20:00.315
<v Speaker 4>that I was left out of his life as his mother.

0:20:01.475 --> 0:20:05.275
<v Speaker 4>I kept saying I did something wrong? What did I

0:20:05.355 --> 0:20:10.355
<v Speaker 4>do or what didn't I do? Everybody kept saying, well,

0:20:10.355 --> 0:20:14.555
<v Speaker 4>at least now you have closure. There's no closure. I

0:20:14.555 --> 0:20:17.475
<v Speaker 4>don't understand what people think when they say, well, at

0:20:17.555 --> 0:20:23.475
<v Speaker 4>least now you know. I'd rather not know. I'd rather

0:20:23.555 --> 0:20:24.195
<v Speaker 4>keep on looking.

0:20:28.355 --> 0:20:32.115
<v Speaker 5>This is in the company, yes, yeah, this is the

0:20:32.235 --> 0:20:35.395
<v Speaker 5>market right here where your loved one is very.

0:20:37.235 --> 0:20:41.755
<v Speaker 4>So. This is Neil. That's Neil. Here. I am at

0:20:41.915 --> 0:20:49.435
<v Speaker 4>Neil's gravesite. Finally, I still have your PlayStation, Neil. I

0:20:49.515 --> 0:20:56.035
<v Speaker 4>love you, I miss you. When they first told me

0:20:56.115 --> 0:21:00.275
<v Speaker 4>that he was here in Hart Island, I was pretty upset.

0:21:00.635 --> 0:21:04.915
<v Speaker 4>I was like, oh disgusting, how could Oh my god.

0:21:06.875 --> 0:21:11.275
<v Speaker 4>There are other bodies also in there with him, a

0:21:11.315 --> 0:21:14.115
<v Speaker 4>bunch of them stacked together. And that's the only thing

0:21:14.115 --> 0:21:17.475
<v Speaker 4>that's a little unsettling because I worry about is his

0:21:17.515 --> 0:21:21.515
<v Speaker 4>neighbor a friendly neighbor. I know these things sound crazy,

0:21:21.555 --> 0:21:25.115
<v Speaker 4>but these are the things that go through my mind.

0:21:26.515 --> 0:21:28.355
<v Speaker 4>So yeah, thought about no, I gotta get him out

0:21:28.355 --> 0:21:31.435
<v Speaker 4>of that. But then I remembered his father is also

0:21:31.515 --> 0:21:35.355
<v Speaker 4>buried on Hart Island, buried down the block a little bit.

0:21:35.395 --> 0:21:40.555
<v Speaker 4>I guess he died and the family couldn't afford to

0:21:41.315 --> 0:21:45.595
<v Speaker 4>have a proper funeral or anything. Neil was only nine,

0:21:45.795 --> 0:21:48.595
<v Speaker 4>and he did always say he wanted to come here.

0:21:50.595 --> 0:21:54.075
<v Speaker 4>Neil always wanted a relationship with his father, and I'm

0:21:54.075 --> 0:21:57.875
<v Speaker 4>my hope is that they're together now and they're developing

0:21:57.915 --> 0:22:07.355
<v Speaker 4>a relationship and they're hanging out somewhere together. The trees

0:22:07.355 --> 0:22:12.875
<v Speaker 4>are beautiful, it was water around. It's a very quiet,

0:22:12.955 --> 0:22:16.355
<v Speaker 4>serene spot. And that was Neil, who was very quiet

0:22:16.555 --> 0:22:22.315
<v Speaker 4>in life. So yeah, this is where he will remain.

0:22:35.435 --> 0:22:38.995
<v Speaker 2>That was Susan Hurlbert, remembering her son Neil Harris Junior.

0:22:41.795 --> 0:22:44.035
<v Speaker 2>It's only been a few years that family members have

0:22:44.075 --> 0:22:47.155
<v Speaker 2>been allowed to visit Hart Island, and after decades of

0:22:47.195 --> 0:22:50.235
<v Speaker 2>being largely inaccessible, the island is expected to open to

0:22:50.275 --> 0:22:57.635
<v Speaker 2>the general public later this year. Our story about Neil

0:22:57.675 --> 0:23:01.035
<v Speaker 2>Harris Junior was produced by Elisa Scarce. It was also

0:23:01.115 --> 0:23:04.195
<v Speaker 2>an official selection at the twenty twenty three Tribeca Festival.

0:23:04.875 --> 0:23:08.075
<v Speaker 2>Our team includes Nellie Gillis, Michaeh Hazel, Di, Na Engelstein,

0:23:08.115 --> 0:23:10.955
<v Speaker 2>and myself. Our editors are Bench Piero and Deborah George.

0:23:11.155 --> 0:23:14.795
<v Speaker 2>Sound mixing by Ben Shapiro. Special thanks to Jessica Brockington,

0:23:14.955 --> 0:23:17.595
<v Speaker 2>who shared research and audio from her search for Neil

0:23:17.635 --> 0:23:20.555
<v Speaker 2>Harris's family. This story would not have been possible without

0:23:20.595 --> 0:23:23.395
<v Speaker 2>her work. We also couldn't make this series without the

0:23:23.395 --> 0:23:26.435
<v Speaker 2>help of Melinda Hunt and the Heart Island Project. Visit

0:23:26.475 --> 0:23:29.955
<v Speaker 2>heartiland dot net to learn more. And thanks to filmmaker

0:23:30.155 --> 0:23:32.795
<v Speaker 2>Eric spink A Vacant Light for his recording of Neil's

0:23:32.795 --> 0:23:37.395
<v Speaker 2>memorial service. Also Matthias Bossi and Stellwagon Sympinett for the

0:23:37.435 --> 0:23:41.435
<v Speaker 2>song Plaintiff into Our broadcast partner nprs All Things Considered

0:23:42.155 --> 0:23:45.155
<v Speaker 2>to hear more stories from the Unmarked Graveyard. Subscribe to

0:23:45.235 --> 0:23:49.115
<v Speaker 2>Radio Diaries wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joe Richmond.

0:23:49.235 --> 0:23:49.995
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening.