Thanks for the article, it was a great read! But this quote below made me cringe, I sure hope its "unused" land and they're not reclaiming my ancestors graves. No wonder Calvary sends such enormous bills lol Liz >>>>What the state has done recently is make it easier for cemeteries to use their own land more efficiently. Some cemeteries have a significant amount of unused land that was purchased by people who the cemeteries have since lost contact with. Lawmakers in Albany recently passed a measure that would allow cemeteries to reclaim such land after 75 years have passed without word from the owners. Many of the empty graves were bought some 80 years ago, when rumors of limited grave space led people to hoard plots for future burials or resale, making them eligible for reclamation. The state and the Metropolitan Cemetery Association see this as a way to provide some immediate relief to some cemeteries where space is a concern.>>> -----Original Message----- From: Soyamaven@aol.com To: NYQUEENS-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Mon, 22 Aug 2005 09:11:22 EDT Subject: [QUEENS] Interesting article on NYC cemeteries For an interesting article, "Cemeteries" by Joshua Brustein, that provides some history of and an analysis of the current condition of cemeteries in New York City's 5 boroughs, please go to: http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/issueoftheweek/20050822/200/1537 I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. L'Shannah Tovah* & Happy 5766, Walter Greenspan * L'Shannah Tovah (li-SHAH-nuh TOH-vuh; li-shah-NAH toh-VAH) Hebrew. Lit. for a good year. The common greeting during Rosh ha Shannah and the Days of Awe. This is a shortening of "L'Shannah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or, to women, "L'Shannah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi"), which means, "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." This year, Rosh ha Shannah begins at sunset on Monday, October 3 on the civil calendar. ============================== Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx