2023 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  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.
(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,  natural organic reductions 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  or  natural  organic
reductions  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  or  natural  organic  reduction,  and the manner of
disposition of the remains. 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.