Those who have passed will soon trespass on the property rights of the living according to the residents of a condo in Nyack bordering on the Oak Hill Cemetery. In a property dispute between the cemetery and the Village Gate Homeowners Association, the cemetery says it can expand and use property it owns but that the condo association has been maintaining and treating as its own.

‘€œWe’re going to use every inch of land that’s usable,’€ says David McLeod, a cemetery trustee. The 160 year old Oak Hill Cemetery plans to expand its 65 acre property by five acres included the disputed plot. The 20 year old Village Gate Homeowners Association claims adverse possession of the land. That means that even though the land doesn’t belong to them, they can claim ownership of the disputed 60-by-400-foot plot after ten years of maintenance.

The gravesites of Edward Hopper, Carson McCullers, and Helen Hayes are among the Rockland County luminaries located at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Sources: Journal News, ExpertLaw

Photo Credit: JiBryant