Queens cemeteries shift policies to deal with grim ‘backlog’
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Calvary Cemetery and other Catholic cemeteries have instituted new policies to promote social distancing at burial grounds. Photo by Plowboy via Wikimedia Commons
By David Brand
Queens’ Jewish and Catholic cemeteries, the final resting place for millions of New Yorkers, adjusted their policies and operating procedures Monday in order to deal with a grim surge in burials related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The new measures include a limit on the number of mourners attending burials and longer operating hours intended to promote social distancing and prevent the spread of the coronavirus among attendees, clergy and burial ground staff.
The New York Board of Rabbis recommended that rabbis conduct burial rites and funeral services by video conference and that no more than four mourners attend a funeral, according to an email sent to cemetery directors Monday. The recommended limit is lower than even a state order restricting attendance at funerals to 10 people.
“Clergy should not feel pressured by mourners, directors, cemetery staff or colleagues to exceed these guidelines,” the Board or Rabbis wrote in the April 6 email.
Burial space inside cemeteries is not an issue, said Rabbi Josepth Potasnick, executive vice president of the Board of Rabbis. But the crisis has strained the Jewish customs of burying the dead within 24 hours, he said.
“Right now our concern is immediate burial,” Potasnick said. “[It is] made difficult because of the number of deaths and delay in getting death certificates. We have sufficient graves thus far.”
At least 731 New Yorkers died from COVID-19 in a 24-hour period between April 5 and 6, raising the total number of statewide deaths to 5,489.
But that staggering total may in fact be an undercount. Gothamist reported Tuesday that about 200 New Yorkers a day are dying in their homes — roughly 10 times more than the usual daily average of 20-25, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Queens has emerged as the epicenter of the crisis, with more than 24,000 residents testing positive for the illness as of Tuesday morning.
Cypress Hills cemetery is a non-denominational burial ground that spans part of Glendale and Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. Photo by Ant Desmond via Wikimedia Commons
Like Jewish cemeteries, Catholic cemeteries in Queens have also adjusted their procedures. The Brooklyn Diocese, which includes Queens, announced new guidelines Monday, including earlier operating hours, extra staff and a regimented schedule of funeral services to limit the number of people in the cemetery at one time.
Cemeteries now open at 8 a.m instead of 9:30 a.m. and cemetery directors coordinate with funeral homes to ensure services are staggered throughout the day, said Brooklyn Diocese spokesperson John Quaglione.
“We made the changes to cope with the backlog,” Quaglione said. “It’s a dreadful situation.”
“They’re not just statistics. These are all individual people that are mothers and brothers and sisters and fathers and husbands, and they all need to be mourned and they all need to be buried,” he continued. “This is not just a numbers game, this is real life.”
Quaglione said Catholic cemeteries have ample space for new burials, despite the grim analysis that New York City may need to find temporary graves on Hart Island or even in city parks.
“These changes will help to bring comfort to our grieving families, offering them the consolation of knowing their loved one was buried with dignity and commended into the hands of God,” Quaglione said.
Staff members at six cemeteries contacted by the Eagle Tuesday noted the increase in burial, and the pressure on burial ground workers.
“We’re very busy, busier than usual,” said the person who answered the phone at Linden Hill Cemetery in Ridgewood, while another phone line rang in the background. She said she had to hang up to answer the other call.
The person who answered the phone at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Fresh Meadows also said staff were too busy to talk.
“I can’t talk to you right now, we have three lines on hold,” she said.
