I happened upon a review of another cemetery in Queens, so it occurred to me: "Gee, why isn't there a review for my favorite cemetery, Mount Zion?" There wasn't, so I decided to write one.
I'm not really sure what criteria one uses to review a cemetery. Its primary consumer, the dead person, is unlikely to care. However, as a person whose grandparents are buried in this cemetery, and who has visited it on occasion since childhood, I can attest that this is one hell of a cemetery from the survivor's perspective.
First of all, it is a funky place. There is no uniformity, no neatly trimmed grass. The burial plots are all crowded up against each other, giving a flavor of the old Jewish Lower East Side. This being a Jewish cemetery, that makes sense. Most of the cemetery is carved up between various ancient and long-defunct fraternal societies. The result is an almost surreal experience, a trip back in time. Overlooking the cemetery is the chimney of a NY Sanitation Department incinerator, so the atmosphere is not exactly pastoral, but that is OK.
Not far from the front gate, where most of the richer people are buried, are two important grave sites: a memorial for the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire disaster of 1911, some of whom were buried there, and the grave of the famous lyricist Lorenz Hart. But you have to go up the hill, away from the front office, to find the more humble graves of the thousands of poor people buried here, mostly many years ago.
I understand that people are no longer "dying to get in" as they used to, as most of the spaces are occupied, but it is still one hell of a cemetery for us living people and I cheerfully recommend it. Be sure to check the website: hours are limited, and it's closed on Saturday and Jewish holidays. Be careful around closing time. Once I got locked in! read more