Many notable cemeteries are (or were) located in New York City. In 1847, the Rural Cemetery Act authorized commercial burial grounds in rural New York state, and in 1852 the Common Council of New York City passed a law prohibiting new burials in the city, which then consisted only of Manhattan Island. [1] The two laws caused many cemeteries in Manhattan to be demolished, and spurred the development of a large number of cemeteries in Queens and Brooklyn, often called the "Cemetery Belt". [2]
![]() |
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)In section 37 of the Cemetery of the Resurrection, a Roman Catholic graveyard on the southern shore of Staten Island, there is an empty grave. Its epitaph is touching: "We love you beyond the moon." Its dates suggest a much-too-early passing: June 6, 1949, to May 26, 1999.