Skeletal Remains Found Near New York City Church at Former Cemetery Site

November 6, 2026 Clara Wilson

Construction crews working on a Manhattan garden made a startling discovery Thursday when they uncovered human skeletal remains at the site of a former cemetery, authorities and law enforcement sources said.

The workers found the bones at about 11 a.m. while digging near St. John’s Lutheran Church on Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue in the West Village, according to the NYPD and police sources.

Workers uncovered skeletal remains Thursday while excavating a garden near St. John’s Lutheran Church. Credit: Facebook

Responding officers discovered what appeared to be part of a spinal column and half of a skull beneath a layer of brick roughly five feet underground, police and the Daily News reported.

The garden occupies the site of a former mid-19th-century cemetery, prompting investigators to examine whether the bones belonged to an old burial plot. Anna Kapustina – stock.adobe.com

The garden was built on land that once served as a cemetery in the mid-1800s. Investigators are now examining whether the remains were left behind from one of the historic graves, law enforcement sources said.

The city’s Office of the Medical Examiner will investigate the remains and determine the cause of death, police said.

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