A cemetery that houses the remains of the Townsend family, which had aided in the settlement of what is now considered the Village of East Hills in the 1600s and has sat in disrepair since the late 1800s, may soon be restored, officials said last week.
In early 2012, East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz reached out to Town of North Hempstead historian Howard Kroplick to research the abandoned cemetery located behind North Flamingo Road on Town of North Hempstead and Town of Oyster Bay property.
The towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay as well as the Village of East Hills have been working together since then to determine what role each would take.
“It’s going to get done, but it’s a little more difficult when you have two towns involved in coordinating the efforts,” Kroplick said. “The good news is, nobody’s forgotten about it this time.”
The cemetery, which is surrounded by a rusted chain-linked fence, had been used by landscapers for dumping, teenagers for beer parties and general littering.
“One of the neighbors was complaining about all the debris and the kids partying, and the village wasn’t quite sure of what to do about it, because it’s a private cemetery,” Kroplick said.
Kroplick found a 1995 survey of East Hills that showed the northern entrance to the cemetery, which is accessed from North Hempstead Turnpike, lies within the Town of Oyster Bay, while the southern section of the cemetery is in the Town of North Hempstead.
Kroplick also found that 34 people had been buried in the cemetery from 1790-1894 from the related Townsend, Willis, Horsfield, Jackson and Boerem families,. The area had been annexed by East Hills in 1961 from Brookville, cleaned up and had the fence built around it for protection, but over time the cemetery again fell into disrepair.
Kroplick said the village reconsidered its plans to restore the cemetery after its concluded that “It thus appears the cemetery…was established as a private burial ground and has been continued to date. Therefore…the Village is not in a position to legally expend tax moneys for the improvement of such property.”
“When it comes to private cemeteries, it’s always questionable who’s responsible for it,” Kroplick said. “Eventually, it got lost in their paperwork.”
According to state law, towns are responsible for the maintenance of cemeteries, which includes the removal of grass and weeds at least three times a year and the erection of fences around the cemetery or burial ground.
Upon visits to the cemetery with East Hills officials in March 2012 and May 2012, Kroplick found the best entrance to the burying ground is from the driveway at 28 North Flamingo Drive, and the two towns entered into discussions about how to best access the property while maintaining the privacy of the residents that live in the area.
After meetings in June and July 2012, a consensus was reached by North Hempstead and Oyster Bay officials, Kroplick said, that Oyster Bay would first clear a pathway to the cemetery from North Hempstead Turnpike so North Hempstead could then clear out the overgrown area, but the project was de-prioritized after Hurricane Sandy.
“Oyster Bay has to first clear the right of way for us to get to the burying ground so we can break through the brush that’s grown in there,” Kroplick said. “Right now, there’s no entrance, there’s still down trees and poison ivy, so there really isn’t much we can do yet.”
Town of Oyster Bay spokesman Brian Devine said Oyster Bay has not met with North Hempstead since late last year and that the project would “require some more discussion and rangling before anything is set in stone.”
“We are investigating all potential options we can to help North Hempstead, but nothing is set in stone,” Devine said. “We are certainly in support of what they are looking to do and we are trying to help them in any way we can.”
Devine said Oyster Bay has not made Townsend Cemetery a priority issue, having utilized a great deal of attention and funding toward restorative efforts after Hurricane Sandy, but the town is planning on discussing the matter further in the near future and re-opening discussions about clean-up efforts with North Hempstead officials.
“We know what they’re looking for but we haven’t been able to focus our attention on it,” Devine said. “Sandy diverted a lot of our resources, and we will be contacting them soon when we have something in place.”
Kroplick said Oyster Bay officials had contacted him as recently as two weeks ago about arranging a meeting between the two towns to begin discussions about the future of the project.
