§ 7 — Acquisition of property by religious corporations for cemetery purposes; management thereof

§ 7. Acquisition of property by religious corporations for cemetery\npurposes; management thereof. A religious corporation may take and hold,\nby purchase, grant, gift or devise, real property for the purposes of a\ncemetery; or such lot or lots in any cemetery connected with it, as may\nbe conveyed or devised to it, with or without provisions limiting\ninterments therein to particular persons or classes of persons; and may\ntake and hold any property granted, given, devised or bequeathed to it\nin trust to apply the same or the income or proceeds thereof, under the\ndirection of the trustees of the corporation, for the improvement or\nembellishment of such cemetery or any lot therein, including the\nerection, repair, preservation or removal of tombs, monuments,\ngravestones, fences, railings or other erections, or the planting or\ncultivation of trees, shrubs, plants, or flowers in or around any such\ncemetery or cemetery lots.\n A religious corporation may erect upon any property held by it for\ncemetery purposes, a suitable building for religious services for the\nburial of the dead, or for the use of the keepers or other persons\nemployed in connection therewith, and may sell and convey lots in such\ncemetery for burial purposes, subject to such conditions and\nrestrictions as may be imposed by the instrument by which the same was\nacquired, or by the rules and regulations adopted by such corporation.\nEvery such conveyance of a lot or plat for burial purposes, signed,\nsealed and acknowledged in the same manner as a deed to be recorded, may\nbe recorded in like manner and with like effect as a deed of real\nproperty.\n Notwithstanding the provisions of section four hundred fifty-one of\nthe real property law or any other provision of law to the contrary, a\nreligious corporation that prior to January first, nineteen hundred\neighty-four received a special permit from the zoning board of appeals\nfor the use of certain real property as a cemetery and which actually\nused such real property for cemetery purposes, may use such real\nproperty for cemetery purposes without the consent of the county\nlegislative body for the county in which such real property is situated.\n No religious corporation owning, managing or controlling a cemetery\nshall, directly or indirectly:\n (a) sell, or have, enter into or perform a lease of any of its real\nproperty dedicated to cemetery purposes or adjacent thereto to a funeral\nentity, or use any of its property for locating a funeral entity;\n (b) commingle its funds with a funeral entity;\n (c) direct or carry on its cemetery related business or affairs with a\nfuneral entity;\n (d) authorize control of its cemetery related business or affairs by a\nfuneral entity;\n (e) engage in any sale or cross-marketing of goods or services with a\nfuneral entity;\n (f) have, enter into or perform a management or service contract for\ncemetery operations with a funeral entity; or\n (g) have, enter into or perform a management contract with any entity\nother than a not-for-profit cemetery or religious corporation.\n Only the provisions of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of the previous\nparagraph shall apply to religious corporations with thirty acres or\nless of real property dedicated to cemetery purposes, and only to the\nextent the sale or lease is of real property dedicated to cemetery\npurposes, and such cemeteries shall not engage in the sale of funeral\nhome goods or services, except if such goods and services are otherwise\npermitted to be sold by cemeteries. No religious corporation shall\napprove or authorize the construction of a mausoleum or columbarium on\nproperty owned by the religious corporation where such mausoleum or\ncolumbarium shall be the only form of interment offered for cemetery\npurposes unless a management contract has been entered into with an\nexisting cemetery corporation regulated under article fifteen of the\nnot-for-profit corporation law, that will provide operational management\nof the mausoleum or columbarium, and the owner of the mausoleum or\ncolumbarium has reserved interment space and secured interment services\nin a cemetery regulated under this article, in order to assure continued\nperpetual care of the remains contained in the mausoleum or columbarium\nshould such mausoleum or columbarium become abandoned or choose to cease\noperations.\n