Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
B.P. Molinaro gives $5,000 to restore grave of former B.P.
Money will be used to repair gravesite of former B.P. Van Name
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Borough President James P. Molinaro today announced that he is contributing $5,000 to the group Friends of Abandoned Cemeteries to restore the grave of Calvin Decker Van Name, Staten Island’s third Borough President.
Van Name’s grave lies in Lake Cemetery, a 2.8 acre burial ground located off of Forest Avenue in Graniteville. The grave has experienced much damage over the years, most notably the destruction of the upper portion of Van Name’s headstone.
“I am pleased to be able to provide funding for the restoration of Borough President Van Name’s grave,” Molinaro said. “Last May, we celebrated the centennial of Borough Hall. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to learn about our past Borough Presidents and the effect that they had on our Borough. Borough President Van Name was instrumental in overseeing many projects on Staten Island, such as the building of the first concrete roads, the construction of a reservoir in Silver Lake, and the building of the courthouse in St. George. Borough President Van Name was a hard-working public servant who was highly respected and admired in the community. It is time that we respect his memory and his legacy by restoring his gravesite,” Molinaro said.
The allocation of money to help repair Borough President Van Name’s gravesite is the latest effort by Borough President Molinaro to help restore a sense of dignity to abandoned and neglected cemeteries on Staten Island. Throughout the years, Borough President Molinaro has funded improvements through his capital budget and has dispatched the Borough Hall “Clean Team” to various locations throughout Staten Island to clear brush and litter from cemeteries. Lake Cemetery, the location of Borough President Van Name’s grave, was cleaned by the ”Clean Team” nearly five years ago after the headstones and walking paths had become overgrown.
“Relatives and loved ones who wish to grieve and visit our Island’s older cemeteries often cannot do so without encountering overgrowth and litter. I’m happy to do what I can to help keep our cemeteries accessible,” Molinaro said.
January 31, 2007