Increasing expenses are forcing some local cemeteries to raise their rates as they’re hit with declining burials and the growing popularity of cremation.
The price for a basic adult interment rose 36 percent at Cold Spring Cemetery in Cold Spring last year, 31 percent at Mount Eden Cemetery in Hawthorne and 20 percent at Mount Repose Cemetery in Haverstraw.
Cold Spring Cemetery superintendent Doug Logan said his longtime contractor who dug graves suddenly resigned, forcing the cemetery to find a new contractor who charged double the price. In addition to that price increase, burials are way down.
“It’s because of the high cost of dying,” said Logan, whose cemetery had up to 100 burials annually five years ago. “Last year we did 60, and this year we’re only at 24.”…
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