[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 183 Introduced in House (IH)]







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.

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

SECTION 1. OAK POINT AND NORTH BROTHER ISLAND STUDY.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``General Slocum 
Memorial Study Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Area would commemorate the June 15, 1904, 
        catastrophic fire aboard the General Slocum steamship, which 
        resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people, most of them 
        German immigrants and their children.
            (2) At the time of this tragedy, there was a vibrant German 
        neighborhood, known as ``Kleindeutschland'' or ``Little 
        Germany'', located on the Lower East Side in New York City.
            (3) Among the churches in Kleindeutschland, St. Mark's 
        Lutheran Evangelical Church on East 6th Street, held an annual 
        outing to celebrate the end of the Sunday school year for 
        neighborhood children and their families. On June 15, 1904, 
        more than 1,300 people boarded the General Slocum for the 
        annual excursion which was a trip to Locust Grove on Long 
        Island Sound.
            (4) Nearly everyone in the neighborhood knew someone who 
        died in the ensuing fire or who perished in the treacherous 
        waters of the East River near Hell Gate. Many lost their entire 
        families. While most passengers were German, victims and 
        rescuers also included African-Americans, and Jewish, Irish, 
        and Italian immigrants.
            (5) The Slocum tragedy also resulted in the devastation of 
        a lively, bustling, and prosperous lower East Side community. 
        Kleindeutschland disappeared forever as its residents fled the 
        reminders of their great losses. Germans left in record numbers 
        and were soon replaced by a new wave of immigrants. The 1910 
        census showed only a few German families remained in 
        Kleindeutschland.
            (6) In the wake of the Slocum disaster, maritime safety 
        standards were considerably tightened--one of the doomed ship's 
        legacies.
            (7) The study area marks the location where the greatest 
        loss of life occurred in this, the most deadly peacetime 
        maritime disaster in American history. North Brother Island is 
        where the General Slocum beached and Oak Point is where 
        rescuers assembled and hundreds of bodies were brought ashore.
    (c) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Area.--The term ``Area'' means in Bronx County, New 
        York, the shoreline of the area roughly bounded by 149th Street 
        on the west and Oak Point Rail Yard spurs on the east. It also 
        includes North Brother Island.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National 
        Park Service.
    (d) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a study of the 
        Area to evaluate the national significance of the Area and 
        suitability and feasibility of designating the Area as a unit 
        of the National Park System.
            (2) Criteria.--In conducting the study required by 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use the criteria for the 
        study of areas for potential inclusion in the National Park 
        System in section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-
        5(c)).
            (3) Contents.--The study required by paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
                designating the Area as a unit of the National Park 
                System;
                    (B) include cost estimates for any necessary 
                acquisition, development, operation, and maintenance of 
                the Area; and
                    (C) identify alternatives for the management, 
                administration, and protection of the Area.
    (e) Report.--Section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) 
shall apply to the conduct of the study required by this section, 
except that the study shall be submitted to the Committee on Resources 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate not later than 18 months after the date on 
which funds are first made available for the study.
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