because individual bodies could not be identified and re-assembled for burial. Additions A plaque was added in 1960 located across from the front label on the monument. The plaque reads: During the Bicentennial Year – 1976, King Juan Carlos of Spain dedicated a plaque honoring the 700 Spaniards who died on the prison ships. Currently surrounding the monument are secured exhibits explaining the history of the prison ships, the Battle of Brooklyn and a list of the 8,000 known martyrs. It is not documented when these exhibits were added. Near the monument, a small building designed to coordinate with the work of McKim, Mead, and White once provided restroom facilities but was re-purposed as a visitors' center for the park. The visitors center has pictorial exhibits plus displays of Revolutionary War weapons and uniform buttons that have been uncovered in the park over the years. It also houses a list of the 8,000 known prisoners on the ships copied from the records in the British War Department. Maintenance and responsibility In the first half of the 20th century efforts were made to seek a national designation. However, the U.S. Department of the Interior declined at the time and noted that the prisoners didn't die at the site itself. Currently, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for the preservation and supervision of the monument. A budgetary study was conducted from March 6, 2006, to September 5, 2008, on electrical improvements and the cost estimated at $341,000. The overall restoration cost for the monument from 2006 to 2008 was estimated at $5,100,000. On April 11, 2013, U.S. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries introduced the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Preservation Act, which would have directed the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Prison Ship Martyr's Monument as a unit of the National Park System. The study would look at what it would cost to run the park and how its proposed designation as a National Park would affect the surrounding area. The House voted on April 28, 2014 to pass the bill in a voice vote. The Department of the Interior supported the bill. The National Park Service said that "the monument commemorates the sacrifice over more than 11,000 patriots during the American Revolution." Rep. Yvette Clarke, who co-sponsored the bill, argued that the bill was a good idea because "this monument commemorates