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The Dead

By Kim Velsey 8/14/12 7:40pm

The Dead

The resting place may remain at rest. (Queens Time Ledger)

Landmarking Saves Queens Cemetery From Becoming A Housing Development

We thought that the scene at the end of Poltergeist, where the dad yells at the real estate developer after unspeakable horrors are visited upon his family, would be enough to deter any housing developer from building over a cemetery.

But apparently the words: “You son of a bitch! You moved the cemetery, but you left the bodies, didn’t you?” did not have a lasting effect on the series of owners who have tried to develop a colonial-era Queens graveyard. Read More

By Kim Velsey 4/03/12 7:06pm

The Dead

Be Careful! (timmredpath, flickr)

Grave Errors In Queens: Contractor Disturbs Quaker Cemetary

It can be hard to know where all the bodies are buried in New York (Washington Square Park, Bryant Park and Madison Square Park are just a few of the city’s re-purposed resting places).

Potter’s fields rarely fare well over time (regardless of the surrounding real estate’s desirability), but many of the city’s historic cemeteries have been well-loved—watched over by attentive congregations, descendants and preservationists (see: the Trinity Church graveyard in lower Manhattan).

Unfortunately, even the most attentive caretakers cannot always protect the dead from development, or an errant backhoe. Read More