I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 183 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating Oak Point and North Brother Island in the Bronx 

in the State of New York as a unit of the National Park System. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. SERRANO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating Oak Point and 

North Brother Island in the Bronx in the State of New 

York as a unit of the National Park System. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. OAK POINT AND NORTH BROTHER ISLAND 

4 STUDY. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘General Slocum Memorial Study Act’’. 

7 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) The Area would commemorate the June 15, 

2 1904, catastrophic fire aboard the General Slocum 

3 steamship, which resulted in the deaths of more 

4 than 1,000 people, most of them German immi5 grants and their children. 

6 (2) At the time of this tragedy, there was a vi7 brant German neighborhood, known as 

8 ‘‘Kleindeutschland’’ or ‘‘Little Germany’’, located on 

9 the Lower East Side in New York City. 

10 (3) Among the churches in Kleindeutschland, 

11 St. Mark’s Lutheran Evangelical Church on East 

12 6th Street, held an annual outing to celebrate the 

13 end of the Sunday school year for neighborhood chil14 dren and their families. On June 15, 1904, more 

15 than 1,300 people boarded the General Slocum for 

16 the annual excursion which was a trip to Locust 

17 Grove on Long Island Sound. 

18 (4) Nearly everyone in the neighborhood knew 

19 someone who died in the ensuing fire or who per20 ished in the treacherous waters of the East River 

21 near Hell Gate. Many lost their entire families. 

22 While most passengers were German, victims and 

23 rescuers also included African-Americans, and Jew24 ish, Irish, and Italian immigrants. 


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1 (5) The Slocum tragedy also resulted in the 

2 devastation of a lively, bustling, and prosperous 

3 lower East Side community. Kleindeutschland dis4 appeared forever as its residents fled the reminders 

5 of their great losses. Germans left in record numbers 

6 and were soon replaced by a new wave of immi7 grants. The 1910 census showed only a few German 

8 families remained in Kleindeutschland. 

9 (6) In the wake of the Slocum disaster, mari10 time safety standards were considerably tightened— 

11 one of the doomed ship’s legacies. 

12 (7) The study area marks the location where 

13 the greatest loss of life occurred in this, the most 

14 deadly peacetime maritime disaster in American his15 tory. North Brother Island is where the General Slo16 cum beached and Oak Point is where rescuers as17 sembled and hundreds of bodies were brought 

18 ashore. 

19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

20 (1) AREA.—The term ‘‘Area’’ means in Bronx 

21 County, New York, the shoreline of the area roughly 

22 bounded by 149th Street on the west and Oak Point 

23 Rail Yard spurs on the east. It also includes North 

24 Brother Island. 


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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di3 rector of the National Park Service. 

4 (d) STUDY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

6 a study of the Area to evaluate the national signifi7 cance of the Area and suitability and feasibility of 

8 designating the Area as a unit of the National Park 

9 System. 

10 (2) CRITERIA.—In conducting the study re11 quired by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use the 

12 criteria for the study of areas for potential inclusion 

13 in the National Park System in section 8(c) of Pub14 lic Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–5(c)). 

15 (3) CONTENTS.—The study required by para16 graph (1) shall— 

17 (A) determine the suitability and feasibility 

18 of designating the Area as a unit of the Na19 tional Park System; 

20 (B) include cost estimates for any nec21 essary acquisition, development, operation, and 

22 maintenance of the Area; and 

23 (C) identify alternatives for the manage24 ment, administration, and protection of the 

25 Area. 


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1 (e) REPORT.—Section 8(c) of Public Law 91–383 (16 

2 U.S.C. 1a–5(c)) shall apply to the conduct of the study 

3 required by this section, except that the study shall be sub4 mitted to the Committee on Resources of the House of 

5 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat6 ural Resources of the Senate not later than 18 months 

7 after the date on which funds are first made available for 

8 the study. 

Æ 


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