Skeletal remains found near NYC church at site of former centuries-old cemetery

Construction workers renovating a garden near St John’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan found skeletal remains on Thursday, prompting a police investigation. The discovery was made at a site that was once a cemetery, and investigators are examining whether the bones came from a burial there.

The remains were found around 11am near Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue in the West Village, beneath brick about five feet underground. They included part of a skull and a spinal cord. The Office of the Medical Examiner will investigate the remains and determine the cause of death.