A Staten Island street may soon become the first named for a formerly enslaved person from New York City.

“This is the first time in NYC history that a street will be co-named for a formerly enslaved person from NYC,” said documentarian Heather Quinlan.

A new street name could be coming to a parking lot on the corner of Livermore & Forest Avenue. The bodies of former slaves have been buried there for more than a hundred years.

Once known as Cherry Lane Cemetery, the location is now a strip mall.

When Quinlan began researching for an upcoming documentary on the cemetery, she found descendants of Benjamin Prine, the last enslaved person on Staten Island.

Quinlan and Prine’s family have been fighting for recognition of the history now covered in asphalt.

“They were human beings. They were considered less than. They were paved over and it was like they never existed,” said Prine’s great-great-great grandson, David Thomas. “My family would have never known they existed if it were not for Heather.”

On Monday, Staten Island Councilmember Kamillah Hanks announced legislation will be submitted to the City Council that would add the name Benjamin Prine Way to Livermore Avenue.

“It’s a start to recognize him. That there are people buried there, especially a relative of mine who is buried there and has been long forgotten” said Prine’s great-great-great granddaughter, Ruth Ann Hills.

At ceremony Monday was Michelle Mann, the granddaughter of the woman who bought the cemetery in 1954.

“When I found out only a few weeks ago, first of all that I had ancestors on Staten Island, I didn’t know that,” Mann said. “That my grandmother and great uncle were part of a real estate transaction that contributed to the erasure of the memory of Benjamin Prine and other African Americans of Staten Island. I was shocked, I was saddened, however I was not surprised. We all live in a society that has been shaped by a history of discrimination.”

Although the family said a street renaming is a step in the right direction, the grandchildren say more needs to be done. They hope to memorialize all of those buried with the help of the Santander Bank at the head of the parking lot.

“The other families that the remains of their loved ones that are here too should have a place that they can come and celebrate them,” said another descendant of Prine, Henry Pegeron.

“History is very important. If you don’t recognize history, you are bound to repeat it again,” said Thomas.

Quinlan is now working on a documentary called “Staten Island Graveyard” which tells the story of the Cherry Lane Cemetery.

Visit cherrylanecemetery.com for more information about the cemetery and documentary.