NY Not for Profit Corp L § 1510 (2021)
2021 New York Laws NPC - Not-For-Profit Corporation Article 15 - 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.   * NB Effective until June 13, 2021   * (a)  Posting  and  distribution  of  rules, regulations, charges and prices. The rules, regulations, charges,  and  prices  of  goods,  lots, plots   or  parts  thereof  shall  be  suitably  printed  and  shall  be conspicuously posted by the corporation in each of its offices, if  any, and  conspicuously displayed on any website the corporation maintains or through which it conducts business. A printed copy of charges and prices of goods, 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 or display 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 goods, lots,  plots,  or parts thereof, to a person who requests 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.   * NB Effective June 13, 2021  (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.  (n) Interment of pet cremated remains. The interment of  pet  cremated remains in a cemetery corporation shall be available to a lot owner only in  those  circumstances where the interment is incidental to the burial of human remains and where authorization has been provided in a  written statement  from the cemetery corporation. The cemetery corporation shall provide a list of approved charges for the interment  of  such  remains. All  payments  received for interment of such remains shall be deposited in the cemetery corporation's permanent maintenance fund.  Pet  cremated remains must be disposed of by placing them in a grave, crypt, or niche. Nothing  in  this section shall obligate a cemetery corporation to allow interment of such cremated pet remains where prior approval at the  time of  sale  or in advance of need has not been received. The provisions of this section shall  not  apply  to  an  incorporated  or  unincorporated cemetery  operated,  supervised or controlled by a religious corporation or a lot, plot or part thereof whose record owner is an incorporated  or unincorporated religious association or society.  (o) Posting and distribution of the New York state cemetery disclosure form.  (1)  New York state cemetery disclosure forms shall be created by the state cemetery board and shall be  posted  on  the  website  of  the division  of cemeteries in the department of state. Copies of such forms shall  be suitably printed by the cemetery corporation and conspicuously displayed in each of its offices, if any, so that all  persons  visiting such  place  may readily see the form and inspect its contents. Physical copies of the forms shall be made  available  to  any  person  inquiring about  cemetery  lots,  goods,  or  services.  A corporation may offer a customer the option of receiving the forms through the use  of  a  quick response (QR) code in lieu of receiving a paper copy.  (2)  The New York state cemetery disclosure forms shall be in the form and manner as prescribed by the state cemetery board, shall include  the contact  information  of  the  New  York department of state division of cemeteries, and shall contain an explanation of the rights of lot owners and family members including, but not be limited to, the following:  (A) a website address, and a  hyperlink  in  the  case  of  electronic copies,  for information about the regulation of cemeteries in New York, the New York department of state division of cemeteries  and  the  state cemetery  board, and a description of those types of cemeteries that are not regulated by the state cemetery board;  (B) the process of purchasing and re-selling a  burial  lot,  plot  or part thereof;  (C) the right to interment and disposition options;  (D) inheritance rights of a burial lot, plot or part thereof;  (E) a listing of reasons that interment may be denied;  (F) the requirements in regards to the use of outer enclosures;  (G) the rights of lot owners as members of the cemetery corporation;  (H)   cemeteries'   duties   regarding  charges,  prices,  rules,  and regulations;  (I)  the  right  to  make  burial   arrangements   and   provide   for memorialization; and  (J) any other information deemed appropriate.  (3)  The state cemetery board may, from time to time, update and amend the New York state cemetery disclosure form as it deems necessary.