Brinckerhoff Cemetery in Fresh Meadows. Credit: LPC
Despite the lack of visible grave markers, Queens cemetery found to contain sufficient historical and archaeological significance to merit designation. On August 14, 2012, Landmarks designated the Brinckerhoff Cemetery at 69-65 182nd Street in the Fresh Meadows section of Queens as an individual City landmark. From 1730 to 1872, the site served as a cemetery for the then-rural community, including the prominent Dutch families who settled the area. A 1919 survey identified 77 gravestones and markers. However, no visible grave markers remain, and the property is overgrown with trees and shrubs.
The City foreclosed on the abandoned site in 1954, and sold the property to Joseph and Elizabeth DeDomenico. The Queens Historical Society and descendants of the Brinckerhoff family sued to reclaim the site in 1999. The DeDomenico family offered to sell the land to the Historical Society, but the group was unable to raise enough money in the time allotted. Linda’s Cai Trading Inc. acquired the property in 2010.
