By Sofia Montagna

All Faiths Cemetery, located in Middle Village, NY in Queens, is entering a new chapter. 

Once the subject of a state investigation into financial misconduct on behalf of the cemetery’s previous board, the 501(c)(13) nonprofit cemetery is now under new leadership. The cemetery’s new board members say they’re working to restore the cemetery’s grounds and be “good neighbors” for the community.

The shift followed the New York State Attorney General’s 2019 lawsuit against several board members of the cemetery after an investigation revealed financial misconduct. The previous board was consequently replaced with a new leadership team.

When asked about the state investigation, James McClelland – the cemetery board’s treasurer and a longtime resident of the area – commented, “The state attorney general did come in. They did an investigation. They did find wrongdoing. Restitution was made to the cemetery, and we took over. There were some forensic financial audits [the new board dealt with] that went back from 1999 onwards.”

“The new board was constituted in 2021, so it started off with three people,” McClelland further noted. There are currently four board members.

When the new board was appointed, the cemetery was in need of repairs. Since stepping in, they have launched several projects, including reconstructing multiple blocks of sidewalk along Metropolitan Avenue in front of the cemetery, paving the roads inside the cemetery, and large-scale landscaping and repairs inside the cemetery.

According to McClelland and the cemetery’s co-president, Brian Chavanne, the stretch of crumbling sidewalk that the board had reconstructed (an approximately $500,000 project) had been in need of repairs since at least 1987. McClelland explained that prior to the repairs, “If you had a wheelchair or had a shopping cart, you couldn’t walk on this side [of the sidewalk].”

Much of the restoration work, McClelland and Chavanne explained, was driven by safety concerns. Crumbling sidewalks and interior paths created a safety and accessibility issue, making it difficult for visitors to visit their departed loved ones in the cemetery.

The board is also looking to strengthen ties with the surrounding community. Hopes for the cemetery’s future include offering historical tours of the cemetery, having community events, and engaging the Boy Scouts and veteran groups to make sure that on holidays like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, the cemetery recognizes the men and women of the service who are buried in its grounds.

“We want to make sure that we are good neighbors, that we are responsible neighbors, and that we provide a safe environment,” McClelland noted.