Hearing set on building courthouse in St. George

Plans for the new St. George courthouse include a "no-build" zone over the section of land that was once a burial ground for 19th-century immigrants.

But the issue of respecting the remains of potentially thousands interred at the site -- including the bones of some 50 souls recently exhumed for research purposes -- leaves questions open after months of discussion and pleas from local preservationists.

A public hearing on the cultural, historic and archaeological implications of building on the grounds of the municipal parking lot bounded by St. Mark's Place, Central Avenue and Hyatt Street will be held on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. on the first floor of the Jury Assembly Center at 126 Stuyvesant Pl., St. George.