NEWBURGH – It has been some 15 years since several sets of bones were unearthed when renovations were being performed to transform the former Broadway School into the Newburgh City Courthouse.

Those remains were determined to belong to African Americans who were buried in a cemetery there in the 1800s.

When they were discovered, they were placed under the care of anthropologists at SUNY New Paltz, where they remain and now, Mayor Torrance Harvey wants to bring them home.

“We are looking for volunteers to help recreate that committee so we can figure out how to, and the most respectful way, to get those African American bones from the repository at SUNY New Paltz back to our city and where they are going to go so there is a respectful memorial commemorating those African American former slaves that were discovered,” said the mayor.

One potential location for the memorial that has been discussed is the area where the bust of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is located on Water Street.