2013 New York Consolidated Laws
NPC - Not-For-Profit Corporation
Article 15 - (1501 - 1517) PUBLIC CEMETERY CORPORATIONS
1510 - Cemetery duties.

 
  § 1510. Cemetery duties.
    (a)  Posting  and  distribution  of  rules,  regulations,  charges and
  prices.  The rules, regulations, charges, and prices of lots,  plots  or
  parts  thereof  shall  be  suitably  printed  and shall be conspicuously
  posted by the corporation in each of its  offices.  A  printed  copy  of
  prices  of  lots,  plots  or  parts thereof shall be made available upon
  request by any person for up to the actual price of the printing of  the
  copy.  For  each  day  in which the corporation fails to post the rules,
  regulations, charges and prices the corporation shall be  subject  to  a
  penalty  of twenty-five dollars which may be recovered in a civil action
  by the cemetery board. For each instance in which the corporation  fails
  to make available a copy of the prices of lots, plots, or parts thereof,
  to a person who request such copy, the corporation shall be subject to a
  penalty  of twenty-five dollars which may be recovered in a civil action
  by the cemetery board. The cemetery board may waive the payment  of  the
  penalty or any part thereof.
    (b) Surveys and maps of cemetery. (1) Every cemetery corporation, from
  time  to  time,  as  land  in  its  cemetery  may be required for burial
  purposes, shall survey and subdivide such lands and make and file in the
  office of the corporation a map  thereof,  open  to  public  inspection,
  delineating  the  lots  or  plots,  avenues, paths, alleys and walks and
  their respective designations;  a  true  copy  thereof  shall  upon  its
  written  request,  be  filed  with  the cemetery board. Any unsold lots,
  plots or parts thereof, in which there are no remains, by order  of  the
  directors,  may be resurveyed and altered in shape or size, and properly
  designated on such map. (2) Every  cemetery  corporation  shall  provide
  reasonable access to every lot, plot and grave. This provision shall not
  be applicable where on September first, nineteen hundred forty-nine such
  access  cannot be provided without the disinterment of a body or bodies.
  A cemetery corporation shall not permit or allow a body to  be  interred
  hereafter in a path, alley, avenue or walk shown on the cemetery maps or
  actually  in existence. Nothing herein contained, however, shall prevent
  a cemetery corporation in special cases from enlarging a lot by  selling
  to  the  owner thereof the access space next to such lot, and permitting
  interments therein, provided  reasonable  access  to  such  lot  and  to
  adjoining  lots  is not thereby eliminated, and provided the approval of
  the cemetery board shall have first been obtained.
    (c) Record of burials or cremations. A record shall be kept  of  every
  burial  in  the  cemetery of a cemetery corporation, showing the date of
  burial, the name, age, and place of birth of  the  person  buried,  when
  these  particulars  can  be conveniently obtained, and the lot, plot, or
  part thereof, in which such burial was made. A copy of such record, duly
  certified by the secretary of such corporation, shall  be  furnished  on
  demand and payment of such fees therefor as are allowed the county clerk
  for  certified copies of records. Notwithstanding any other provision of
  this section, all cemetery corporations which conduct  cremations  shall
  maintain  permanent records of the name of the deceased human being, the
  funeral home from which  the  remains  were  received,  the  receipt  of
  delivery  of  the  deceased human remains, the authorizing agent for the
  cremation, and the manner of disposition of the cremains.  Such  records
  may be reviewed by the division of cemeteries at any time.
    (d)  When  burial  not  to  be  refused. No cemetery corporation shall
  refuse or deny the right of burial and the privileges incidental thereto
  in any lot, plot or part thereof to those otherwise lawfully entitled to
  be buried  therein,  for  any  reason  except  for  the  non-payment  of
  interment  charges  and  the  purchase  price  of  the lot, plot or part
  thereof, in accordance with the terms of the  contract  of  purchase  or

  except as provided in subdivision (f) of section fifteen hundred nine of
  this article.
    (e) Removals. A body interred in a lot in a cemetery owned or operated
  by  a  corporation incorporated by or under a general or special law may
  be removed therefrom, with the  consent  of  the  corporation,  and  the
  written  consent  of  the  owners of the lot, and of the surviving wife,
  husband, children, if of full age, and parents of the deceased.  If  the
  consent  of  any  such person or of the corporation can not be obtained,
  permission by the county court of the county, or by the supreme court in
  the district, where the  cemetery  is  situated,  shall  be  sufficient.
  Notice  of application for such permission must be given, at least eight
  days prior thereto, personally, or, at least sixteen days prior thereto,
  by mail, to the corporation or to the persons  not  consenting,  and  to
  every  other  person  or  corporation  on  whom service of notice may be
  required by the court.
    (f) Expenses of improving vacant lot. Whenever a person having  a  lot
  in  a  cemetery  shall  vacate  the  same by a removal of all the bodies
  therefrom, and leave such lot in an unsightly condition for  one  month,
  the  corporation  may  grade,  cut, fill or otherwise change the surface
  thereof, without  reducing  the  area  of  the  lot.  The  expense,  not
  exceeding  ten dollars, shall be chargeable to the lot. If the owners of
  such lot, within six months after such expense has been incurred,  shall
  not  repay  such  expense,  the  corporation  may sell the lot at public
  auction upon the cemetery grounds, previous notice of such  sale  having
  been  posted  at  the  main  entrance of the cemetery, and mailed to the
  owners of such lot at their last-known post office address, at least ten
  days prior to the day of sale, and shall pay the  surplus,  if  any,  on
  demand to the owners of such lot.
    (g)  Removal  or  correction of dangerous conditions in cemetery lots.
  Any plant life, fencing or  embellishment  or  structure  other  than  a
  mausoleum,  monument  or  mound,  in  a  lot, plot or part thereof which
  becomes so worn, neglected, broken or deteriorated  that  its  continued
  existence is a danger to persons or property within the cemetery grounds
  may be removed, repaired or corrected by the cemetery corporation at its
  own cost and expense, provided it first gives not less than fifteen days
  notice  by  registered  or certified mail to the last known owner at his
  last known address to repair or remove such object and  the  said  owner
  shall  fail  to  repair or remove the object within the time provided in
  said notice. In the event of such removal, correction or repair  by  the
  cemetery corporation it shall, within twenty days thereafter, notify the
  lot  owner, by registered or certified mail addressed to him at his last
  known address, of the action taken by the cemetery corporation.  Nothing
  herein  contained  shall be construed to affect, supersede or impair any
  contract, rule or regulation duly approved by  the  cemetery  board,  or
  right  or  obligation  of  the  cemetery  corporation,  nor  shall it be
  construed as placing any legal duty or obligation to exercise any  right
  authorized by this subdivision.
    (h)  Repair or notice as to non-dangerous damage or defacement. Except
  as otherwise provided by  rule  or  regulation  of  the  cemetery  board
  pursuant  to  subparagraph  two-a  of  paragraph  (c) of section fifteen
  hundred four of this article, in the event a lot, plot or  part  thereof
  is  substantially  damaged or defaced which does not present a dangerous
  condition to persons or property, or in the event a mausoleum,  monument
  or  mound  in  a  lot,  plot or part thereof is substantially damaged or
  defaced, and the correction of such condition  is  not  subject  to  the
  provisions  of  paragraph (g) of this section or section fifteen hundred
  ten-a of this article, the cemetery corporation within  thirty  days  of
  the  discovery  of this condition may at its own cost and expense repair

  the damage or defacement,  or  if  it  determines  not  to  do  so,  the
  corporation shall within such thirty day period notify the owner, his or
  her  distributee or the person filing an affidavit with such corporation
  pursuant  to  the provisions of paragraph (e) of section fifteen hundred
  twelve of this article of such condition at the  last  address  of  such
  owner,  distributee  or person appearing on the books and records of the
  corporation. The notice  shall  be  sent  by  first  class  mail  and  a
  certificate of mailing shall be obtained. Nothing herein contained shall
  be construed as establishing any right of damages not otherwise provided
  by  law, rule or contract in any person against the cemetery corporation
  for failure to repair any condition described or give notice thereof  as
  provided for in this paragraph.
    (i) Record of inscriptions to be filed. Whenever, under any general or
  special law, any cemetery is abandoned or is taken for a public use, the
  town  board  of the town or the governing body of the city in which such
  cemetery is located, shall cause to be made, at the time of the  removal
  of  the  bodies  interred  therein, an exact copy of all inscriptions on
  each headstone, monument, slab or marker erected on each lot or plot  in
  such  cemetery  and  shall cause the same to be duly certified and shall
  file one copy thereof in the office of the town or  city  clerk  of  the
  town  or  city  in  which  such cemetery was located and one copy in the
  office of the state historian and chief of the division  of  history  in
  the department of education at Albany. In addition to such inscriptions,
  such  certificate  shall  state the name and location of the cemetery so
  abandoned or taken for a public use, the cemetery  in  which  each  such
  body  was  so  interred  and  the  disposition  of  each such headstone,
  monument, slab or marker.
    (j) Grave markers. No cemetery corporation,  which  provides  for  the
  burial  of  persons  of  the  Jewish faith, shall promulgate any rule or
  regulation prohibiting the use of cement beds as a means of  demarcating
  a  specific  grave  area.  Such cemetery corporations shall provide this
  service to all persons of the Jewish faith  requesting  this  method  of
  marking a grave when such grave area is provided through the agency of a
  membership  or  religious  corporation  or unincorporated association or
  society which provides burial benefits for the members. Subject  to  the
  rules  and  regulations promulgated by the cemetery board, such cemetery
  corporations shall establish the schedule of charges to be assessed  for
  installation  and  maintenance  of  cement beds. The schedule of charges
  shall be filed with and approved by the cemetery board. Such  regulation
  may  require the payment of the cost of perpetual care as a condition to
  such installation and maintenance. The charges assessed shall be paid by
  the person requesting the service.  The  provisions  of  this  paragraph
  shall only be applicable within the counties contained within the first,
  second,  tenth  and  eleventh  judicial  districts as such districts are
  arranged pursuant to section one hundred forty of the judiciary law.
    (k) Notice  and  restoration  as  to  damage  and  defacement  due  to
  vandalism.    In the event a monument is damaged or defaced by an act of
  vandalism, the cemetery corporation shall, within  thirty  days  of  the
  discovery  of  such  damage,  notify  the  owner, his distributee or the
  person filing  an  affidavit  with  such  corporation  pursuant  to  the
  provisions  of  paragraph  one  of  subdivision  (e)  of section fifteen
  hundred twelve of this article of such damage in the manner provided  in
  subdivision (h) of this section. The cost and expense of such notice may
  be  provided  from  the  fund where such fund exists. If a fund has been
  established, the cemetery corporation shall restore  the  monument  with
  moneys  from such fund. If such a fund has not been established or where
  such  fund  is  inadequate  to  restore  the  monument,   the   cemetery
  corporation  may  restore  such  monument  at  its own cost and expense.

  Nothing herein contained shall be construed as establishing any right of
  damages not otherwise provided by law, rule or contract  in  any  person
  against  the cemetery corporation for failure to restore any monument if
  no  monument  maintenance  fund  exists or if such fund is inadequate to
  restore such monument.
    (l) Removal of monument. No person  or  organization  shall  remove  a
  monument without authorization in the form of a court order from a court
  of  competent  jurisdiction, or without the written authorization of the
  owner of a burial plot, or the lineal descendants of  the  deceased,  if
  such  owner  or  lineal  descendants  are  known,  and without obtaining
  written approval from a duly incorporated  cemetery  association,  which
  association  shall  keep  a  record  of  all such written approvals. The
  provisions of this section shall not prohibit the removal, in accordance
  with rules and regulations promulgated by the secretary of state,  of  a
  monument for the purpose of repair, nonpayment or adding inscriptions as
  authorized  by a cemetery association or as permitted in this article. A
  violation of any provision of this paragraph shall be  punishable  by  a
  fine not to exceed five hundred dollars.
    (m)  Use of construction and demolition debris for burial. No cemetery
  corporation or religious corporation having  charge  and  control  of  a
  cemetery  which  heretofore  has been or which hereafter may be used for
  burials, shall use construction and demolition debris, as that  term  is
  defined in 6 NYCRR 360-1.2, for the purpose of burying human remains.