Baron Hirsch Cemetery
  Location in New York City | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1899[1] |
| Location | 1126 Richmond Avenue, Graniteville, Staten Island, New York City |
| Country | USA |
| Coordinates | 40°37′20″N 74°09′18″W / 40.6221°N 74.1549°W |
| Type | Jewish |
| Size | about 80 acres (0.32 km2)[2] |
| Find a Grave | Baron Hirsch Cemetery |
Baron Hirsch Cemetery is a large Jewish cemetery in the neighborhood of Graniteville, on Staten Island, in New York City, and named for Baron Maurice de Hirsch.
History
The cemetery was established in 1899.[1]
In January, 1960, the cemetery drew national attention when 87 headstones were smeared with yellow paint and the words “Fuhrer,” and the German words for death and fatherland. That incident and others led President Dwight D. Eisenhower to declare that freedom and decency could be destroyed everywhere if Americans ignored the "virus of bigotry" or permitted it "to spread one inch."[3]
Nevertheless, continued vandalism,[4][5][6][7] as well as apathy and neglect[2] remained problems at Baron Hirsch for decades, resulting in numerous overturned grave markers.
A major cleanup of the grounds was started in March 2011 with the help of the Community Alliance for Jewish-affiliated Cemeteries,[2] and a fence was built to enclose the cemetery. The 121st precinct house of the New York Police Department, which adjacent to the cemetery and overlooks it, opened in 2013,[8] and may have helped curb vandalism as well.
The cemetery is composed of about 500 plots or sections belonging to synagogues, Jewish associations, family circles, and most commonly, landsmanshaftn. Most plots are entered via gates or pairs of stone columns. Some of the landsmanshaftn plots have monuments dedicated to Holocaust victims of the Nazis in their ancestral town.[9][10][11][12]
Notable burials
- Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr. (1895–1979), newspaper publisher, founder of Advance Publications;[13] and other members of the Newhouse publishing family.
- Joseph Papp (1921–1991) – theater producer, theater director, and founder of The Public Theater[14][15]
- William Shemin (1896–1973) – Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipient[16]
- Elliot Willensky (1943–2010) – composer, lyricist, and music producer[17]
References
- 1 2 Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York from January 1 to March 27, 1906. Board of Aldermen. 1906. p. 1091. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
- 1 2 3 Grunlund, Maura. "Apathy, Neglect and Vines Overtake Staten Island Cemetery". Staten Island Advance. Advance Publications, at silive.com. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ "President Scores 'Virus of Bigotry' — Warns It Must Be Stemmed as Peril to Freedom". New York Times. January 13, 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ "Two 200-Pound Doors Stolen From Cemetery". New York Times. February 25, 1981. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ "Headstones Overturned In S.I. Jewish Cemetery". New York Times. September 15, 1997. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ Vandam, Jeff (May 16, 2004). "Neighborhood Report: Graniteville — In a Place Plagued by Vandals, The Pain of Putting Things Right". New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ Engels, Mary (August 2, 2002). "S.I. Jewish Cemetery Vandalized". New York Daily News. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ↑ "N.Y.P.D. — New York's Finest — 121st Precinct". nyc.gov. City of New York. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ↑ "hm/wodzislaw/bh". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ↑ "hm/gvardeyskoye/bh". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ↑ "hm/nadvirna/bh". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ↑ "hm/hlusk/bh". Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ↑ "Samuel I. Newhouse". findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ Blau, Eleanor (2 November 1991). "Joseph Papp Is Remembered in Words and Song". New York Times. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ↑ "Joseph Papp". findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ "William Shemin". findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ "Elliott Willensky". findagrave.com. Find A Grave. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
Coordinates: 40°37′20″N 74°09′18″W / 40.6221°N 74.1549°W