Churchill, Chris. "Abandoned graves are Cohoes' shame." Albany Times Union. July 14, 2014. http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Churchill-Abandoned-graves-are-Cohoes-shame-5621448.php It’s nice to see it covered in the paper, though Churchill leaves a lot unresolved. Does Cohoes own a part of Union Cemetery, or its own cemetery next to Union Cemetery? How much of the area did Cohoes actually lay out and use for the reinterments from the Columbia Street City Cemetery and how much was used for later burials of poor or unknown persons? (While the map at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pis&PIcrid=2281947&PIpi=67549562&PIMode=cemetery suggests the entire Cohoes part was laid out, I’m not sure if that was actually done or just a proposal.) Were all headstones moved there from Columbia Street or discarded for use as walkways in Cohoes and/or dumped in the Mohawk River as has been reported? Can Cohoes legally abandon the cemetery as they’ve done, or must they do something about it? If they continue not to do anything about it what are the consequences, if any? Some things in the article that aren’t quite accurate: “Part of the cemetery is owned by the city of Cohoes, but has fallen into disrepair in recent years” In fact, the city cemetery had fallen into disrepair as early as 1852, well prior to its removal to Crescent. After being moved to Crescent in 1896 Cohoes soon (if not immediately) started using it as a potters’ field. It’s not clear that it was ever in good condition, but Cohoes stopped paying for maintenance in 1952 and it was reported to be “in very poor condition” in 1968 - sunken graves and “overgrown with trees.” Out of sight (and city!), out of mind. “She's recorded surnames from tombstones worn nearly clean by time. Among them are Sullivan, Byron, Cosgrove, Powers, Olinskly [sic], White and Wilson”: those are some of the names of people we know from old newspaper articles ought to be buried back there somewhere, not ones on tombstones that have been found. Rachel Homes; Alice A. Gray Lappeus and Jesse A. Lappeus; Adam Miller; Harriet Place; Ann, James, John, Martha, and Roberta Rogerson are some of the names that have been recorded back there - and most of them are still pretty legible, just dirty or partly hidden by the ground. There’s an interesting double headstone that seems to be from the 1830s that is pretty worn, though. “Primeau isn't ready to send city workers, but he said there might be alternatives. He wondered if he could enlist a volunteer organization to help clear the land." Would Mayor Primeau be willing to enlist volunteers for all code violations by individuals and companies in Cohoes? If not, why should the City be entitled to different treatment for city-owned property? I’m not sure what the solution is, but the lack of oversight for municipal cemeteries is clearly a serious problem. Chris Cohoes City Cemetery https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Mt-S77wZKfOGdzY0pLMUxCOU0/edit?usp=sharing