At Empire Outlets On October 1st (this Thursday), the exhibit responding to the African-American graveyard that was paved over to build a bank and a strip mall will open at Empire Outlets. The lives of those buried there have not been forgotten by some of their descendants, who are fighting for recognition of the graveyard and remembrance of the lives of those buried there.
The documentary seeks to share the story of the discovery and timeline of the African-American graveyard, which was attached to a church, another congregation of which is located elsewhere on the island. This cemetery was noted on maps up until a certain point as a cemetery and a church. When the church was torn down and the place left unattended, a family of wealthy real estate developers and attorneys saw an opportunity to take something that they wanted using loopholes in the law, proving to a judge that it was never actually a cemetery, and thus their bid to build on it should be granted. Notably, there are many death certificates naming Cherry Lane, the Cemetery in question, as their burial place. We do not know why there wasn’t much of a fight to preserve it, but it likely came down to money: these were wealthy landowners, fighting a battle against poor families who perhaps could not gather sufficient resources to show that it was a cemetery. Or perhaps they tried to speak but were silenced – this was in a racist time period not long after slavery had ended.
That is part of what Heather Quinlan, the documentarian involved with the project, seeks to find out. So far, a memorial sign has been placed there, along with a cherry tree, in remembrance of those who are buried underneath. Part of the goal is penetrating radar testing, followed by exhumation if evidence of bodies buried there is definitively found and they can gain permission to do so.
Our original announcement when the exhibit was first announced can be found here. Readers may remember the first part of our interview with Heather Quinlan about the film. Here is the second part of the same interview. In lower Manhattan, a similar situation occurred, and in this instance, the graveyard is beneath several of the buildings by the Staten Island Ferry on the Manhattan side. There is now a large sculpture and an annual celebration of those buried there so that they will not be forgotten.
Below is the release about the event:
AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER TO UNVEIL MAJOR ART EXHIBITION INSPIRED BY STATEN ISLAND’S LOST BLACK CEMETERY
Artists whose works have appeared at the Smithsonian, the Brooklyn Museum, on Netflix, and the cover of TIME will gather October 1 to unveil original pieces created solely for the “Black Cherry Lane: Presence” Art Exhibit. Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella Will Also Be In Attendance
Exhibition and press conference will be filmed to form the ending of the upcoming documentary “American Graveyard.”
ON STATEN ISLAND, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, AT 11 A.M.
Heather Quinlan, filmmaker and director of “American Graveyard,” whose previous work includes “If These Knishes Could Talk: The Story of the NY Accent” now part of the Library of Congress collection. “American Graveyard” is scheduled for completion in 2027, the bicentennial of slavery’s abolition in New York State.
Henry Pegeron, Cherry Lane cemetery descendant, will serve as emcee.
Vito Fossella, Staten Island Borough President, confirmed to attend.
Travis Carter, Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement, Staten Island, confirmed to attend.
Descendants of those buried at Cherry Lane Cemetery will attend and participate in the event.
Participating artists will speak briefly about their work:
* Lazarus Nazario (Curator): Oil on aluminum, The Congregation
* Taha Clayton: Oil on linen, cherry wood and brass, A Shield for the Morning Bird
* Thomas Doyle: Miniature sculpture, Ascension
* Mary Edwards: Sound composition, What Remains
* Jerome Lagarrigue: Oil painting, Distant Relative #18
* Tim Okamura: Oil on canvas, Long Lost & Found
* Greg Shea: Tintype photography, Descendants
* Beverly Smith: Quilt, The Origin of My Descent: Beyond the Grave
* Yelena Tylkina: Ink on paper, Benjamin Prine, Black Queen, Oysterman and the Nightingale
Watch a one-minute preview of the exhibit here
When history leaves no images behind, how can artists help tell the story? A new Staten Island Art Exhibition, entitled “Black Cherry Lane: Presence,” opening on October 1, brings together contemporary artists who’ve spent the past year creating works in response to a destroyed 19th century Black cemetery on Staten Island. Their creative process and the Art Exhibition—“Black Cherry Lane: Presence”—will become the final chapter of the documentary “American Graveyard,” to be released next year in conjunction with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in New York State.
The exhibition runs through October 25th.
WHEN
Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 11 a.m.
WHERE
Empire Outlets, Level 3, Waterside
55 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island, NY
Across from the Staten Island Ferry Slip. Ample on-site signage shows the way.
Banner Image: Black Cherry Lane exhibit. Image Credit – Canvas Back Kid productions
Staten Islander News Service Staff Writer
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