We urge NYC Parks to recognize and approve the HALO artwork on the M'Finda Kalunga Community Garden fence in Sara D. Roosevelt Park as an extended, if not permanent installation, rather than a temporary artwork.

The Chrystie Street African Burial Ground is a vital part of Lower East Side history and African American Heritage, yet much of its legacy remains unrecognized. HALO, installed in 2024, is currently considered "temporary public art," and city rules require such works to be removed after one year unless they go through a year-long juried process with multiple layers of bureaucratic complexity. Without extending this work, HALO risks erasure, undoing decades of community work and advocacy to enshrine this history in public memory. Importantly, within the larger citywide context, there is an ongoing effort to establish a framework for acknowledging historic burial grounds. HALO serves as an exemplar. 

It acts as both memorial and educator. It embeds and intertwines African diasporic patterning with the intimate details of the birth and death of some of the ancestors who were buried there. It invites conversation and reflection as a silent educator and curiosity-raiser for many young people, students, workers, residents, and park visitors who happen upon it. It encourages pride and understanding across divides. It enhances public safety and quality of life by illuminating a formerly dark walkway -  deterring unsafe behavior and creating a more welcoming passage through the park at night. It strengthens community ownership and pride as residents, students, seniors, and visitors use the garden and benefit daily from its symbolic and practical presence and connection to the lush community garden named in honor of the Chrystie Street Burial Ground. 

HALO has already become an integral and positive part of the Sara Roosevelt Park. It is a community-driven addition to this long-established garden, providing education, safety, and remembrance. The renaming and rededication of this space as the M'Finda Kalunga Garden in the mid-1990s represented a tangible connection to this burial ground. It was our first step in the crucial work of preserving African Heritage in the Lower East Side—this preservation and public acknowledgement are essential, now more than ever.

We unite our voices to ask Parks to reconsider the removal of the project. As we look forward to Juneteenth 2026 and other commemorative moments, maintaining HALO sends a message that this Heritage is valued, seen, and preserved. Permanent recognition of HALO is more than an art decision. It is about honoring history, strengthening community, enhancing safety, upholding dignity, and pushing back against the continuing tide of historical erasure.