Congregation Shaare Zedek Cemetery
| Shaare Zedek Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | about 1847 |
| Location | South side of East 88th Street between Park and Madison Avenues, New York City |
| Country | USA |
| Coordinates | 40°46′54″N 73°57′25″W / 40.781721°N 73.957039°W |
| Type | Jewish |
| Owned by | Congregation Shaare Zedek |
| Size | 0.12 acres (490 m2)[1] |
| No. of graves | about 120 |
Congregation Shaare Zedek Cemetery was a small Jewish cemetery located on the south side of East 88th Street between Fourth (now Park) and Madison Avenues on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, and owned by Congregation Shaare Zedek on the Lower East Side. It opened in about 1847 on a lot that was just over 50 feet wide by 100 feet deep, and was filled to capacity by 1859.[1][2]
In 1881, the New York City Board of Health granted permission for the congregation to disinter the bodies and move them to Bayside Cemetery in Queens, which Congregation Shaare Zedek also owned.[3] However, the bodies were not moved at that time, and several years afterward, during construction of a building on one of the adjacent lots, the cemetery wall was damaged. The congregation then sought to move the bodies, but this was opposed by some former members of the congregation whose relatives were buried there. The congregation asked for a halakhic (religious) opinion from Rabbi Jacob Joseph, the chief rabbi of New York City. He replied that while the removal of bodies that might have been disturbed by the damaged wall was permitted, it was against Jewish law to disturb the other bodies.[4][5]
At some time afterward, the bodies were moved, and the land was deeded to a woman named Mary Ehrman in 1899.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Chapter 34: An act to confirm the title to lands in the City of New York conveyed by The Congregation Chaari Zedek...". Laws of the State of New York, Passed at the One Hundred and Twenty-Third Session of the Legislature, Begun January Third, 1900, and Ended April Sixth, 1900, in the City of Albany. Vol. 1. Albany, N.Y.: J.B. Lyon Company. 1900. pp. 85–86. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "Selling the Dead to Pay Assessments". New York Times. October 26, 1877. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ "City and Suburban News — New-York". New York Times. December 28, 1881. p. 8. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "Denied by Rabbi Joseph". New York Times. November 24, 1892. p. 9. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "Against the Jewish Law — Congregation Shaaraï Zedek Will Not Sell Its Cemetery". New York Times. November 28, 1892. p. 5. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
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