CAJAC – The Community Association for Jewish At-Risk Cemeteries

Some reflections by Mindy Radler Glickman of the Queens Jewish community group J-High-TEQ:

“On November 15th, a beautiful Sunday, J-Hi-TEQ invited students, their families, and the community to be part of our first Hesed project at Bayside Cemetery in Ozone Park, Queens. A wonderful inter-generational group of people gathered to be part of a much larger project created to restore neglected Jewish cemeteries. It was truly sad to see the neglect, but uplifting to be part of this mitzvah project. Evidence of more glorious days was everywhere. Like a trip through history, we passed stones dating back to the mid 1800’s on our way to our worksite. It was hard not to draw images of what life had been for those resting here. We read dates and places of birth from all over the world. Many of the headstones were very beautiful, evidencing the loving families who are no longer around to care for these Jewish graves.

“After walking through parts that have already been cleaned up by other volunteers, we met Dr. Ronny Herskovits, who gave us a short history of the cemetery. He also gave us gloves, tools, and a poison-ivy warning. We jumped right in. It was only a few hours of work, but by the time we were done we realized that we had uncovered and rediscovered over 30 headstones. The kids and adults were truly terrific. We all worked very hard. It felt good. Teamwork was necessary to overcome many of the tree-like weeds which had developed. The quiet chatter of people working together to accomplish this holy task was uplifting. In contrast to many cemetery visits, this one was filled with smiles, not tears.

“When we finished the physical work, Rabbi Jeff Glickman led a short, inspirational session. His lesson personalized our cemetery visit. ‘Who can name all 8 of our great-grandparents?’ he asked. He then linked the answer to the week’s Torah portion. Rabbi Glickman distributed small riverstones, and while he recited the ‘Kel Malei Rahamim,’ each of us symbolically placed these rocks on no longer forgotten gravestones. As we laid our stones, we called the departed’s name out loud. The names echoed through the silence and above the sound of the passing trains.”

Steven M. Zellman writes in the Nov. 1 bulletin of the Hillcrest Jewish Center:

“On the morning of October 14, 2009, Elaine Steinberg, Irving Goldberg, Robert Rumack, Mike Silver, and I went over to Bayside Cemetery in Ozone Park to meet Dr. Ron Herskovits, our neighbor in Jamaica Estates. Dr. Ronny works as a virtual one-man crew to clean up this troubled Jewish cemetery.

“Efforts have been made sporadically over the years, not all of them by Jews, to clean up the cemetery. These charitable efforts have not brought more than very temporary results. Fallen trees, unpruned trees, Jurassic-Park-like weeds, and garbage prevent access to many graves. Toppled headstones and vandalized graves are numerous.

“The mission now under way is to do a comprehensive clean-up effort of the cemetery followed by the installation of control measures that will elegantly prevent the speedy return of unwanted vegetation, resulting in a ‘low maintenance’ cemetery.

“A comprehensive effort was begun by Jewish volunteers throughout the metropolitan area to return Bayside Cemetery to its proper place of respect for our departed Jewish brothers and sisters. It is anticipated that work will continue every Wednesday and Sunday until the winter with rotating groups of volunteers participating.

“Dr. Herskovits is coordinating with the Community Association for Jewish at Risk Cemeteries (CAJAC). The association received a grant from UJA to hire professionals for the really heavy work. Of course, there is much work to be done by volunteers.

“To my fellow volunteers, thanks for joining me in being part of this wonderful mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem—assisting in the cleaning up the long neglected Bayside Cemetery. May we continue to go from strength to strength.”

Councilman Erich Ulrich with powerwasher

Several dozen volunteers gathered yesterday to continue the rehabilitation work at Bayside Cemetery. Outside the grounds of Bayside and the adjacent Acacia Cemetery, local City Council Member Erich Ulrich in concert with the special services division of the Mayor’s office arranged for the removal of graffiti from exterior walls. The Local civic association carted away trash that had gathered outside the cemeteries’ perimeter. Inside the cemetery, Stephen Dann and over 20 volunteers from Sutton Place Synagogue cleaned a large center section, working halfway up the eastern traverse between Pitkin and Liberty Avenues. Many more photos here.