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NYC Council bill considers installing monuments for 1863 Draft Riots
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Apr 26, 2026
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By
Catalina Gonella
Published Apr 26, 2026
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New York City Council members are considering legislation that would require the city to assess potential memorials for the Draft Riots of 1863.
The bill, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Dr. Nantasha Williams, was scheduled to be discussed at a committee hearing on Monday and would mandate that the city study and report on the installation of possible structures to acknowledge the event, one of the deadliest episodes of civil unrest in American history.
The Council estimates the study would cost about $200,000, with funding to hire a consultant to conduct the analysis.
The riots took place in Manhattan in July 1863, after the federal government instituted a Civil War draft.
According to historians, the policy allowed wealthier men to avoid service by paying $300, fueling resentment among poorer New Yorkers. For four days starting on July 13, mobs of white New Yorkers, many of them Irish immigrants, took to the streets, initially attacking government buildings before turning their violence on Black residents.
Historians estimate that at least 119 people were killed, though the exact death toll remains debated. Black New Yorkers were specifically targeted, with at least 11 people lynched and many more attacked.
One of the riot’s most notorious incidents was the burning of the Colored Orphan Asylum on Fifth Avenue, though more than 200 children inside escaped.
Intro 496 would require the commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs to conduct the study and consult with other agencies, community stakeholders and at least one expert. The report would include recommendations on the types of memorials, their locations and potential inscriptions, as well as funding and approval processes.
The legislation would also require the findings to be submitted to the mayor and the City Council.
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Politics
new york city
Catalina Gonella
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