Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson on April 3 joined City Council Member Eric Dinowitz at Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy to present $931,000 in capital funding to connect Woodlawn Cemetery’s western border (Jerome Avenue) to the New York City Museum sewer system.
“The Woodlawn Cemetery is a beloved public landmark of the Bronx, and I am pleased to provide it the funding that it deserves,” Dinowitz said. “Its historic legacy necessitates that we maintain its preservation to the best of our ability and ensure that it is equipped with the implements to make it accessible and ADA compliant in our community today. The connection of its western border to the New York City septic system means opening new pathways of accessibility to the public, allowing visitors to more readily appreciate this landmark. I am proud to fund this public project, in tandem with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, to effectively bring forth a cultural icon into the 21st century.”
With funding secured in the 2024 fiscal year, the allocation means upgrades for Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy’s public restrooms that were built in 1930 and are located at the Jerome Avenue Entrance. Soon those who attend lectures, concerts and other programs in the Woolworth Building will benefit from an upgraded septic system. The Woolworth building is scheduled to upgrade restrooms making them more accessible and ADA compliant, with this also enabling the organization to accommodate increasing public use of the Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy as a historic site, outdoor learning lab and tourist destination.
Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy is open to the public daily and admission to the site is free of cost, with all visitors provided with informational brochures allowing them to enjoy the collection of outstanding memorials, pay homage to the celebrated figures at rest and walk among the 6,000 trees contained within the urban forest.
“A place of education and exploration and the final resting place of legendary New Yorkers, the Woodlawn Cemetery and Conservancy is a cultural gem in our borough,” Gibson said. “With this capital allocation, our beloved Woodlawn Cemetery will soon be more accessible for our residents and families to partake in the beauty and majesty of this historic landmark. I want to thank Council Member Eric Dinowitz for his partnership on this initiative to invest in one of our borough’s public spaces.”
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