Cemetery fundraisers upset families in Jersey City

Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Cemetery fundraisers upset families in Jersey City
Alicia Vitarelli reports during Action News at 4:30pm on November 14, 2017.

A historic cemetery up in Jersey City has been doing some fundraising by hosting parties and galas... at the cemetery itself.

Some families say this is simply disrespecting the dead.

Videos and pictures from fundraisers at Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery show them spilling over onto gravesites.

These parties have live rock bands, blankets, and lawn chairs spread across graves, port-o-potties, and hot dog stands.

Some families say seeing images like these is like ripping a scab off a wound.

"In other cemeteries in probably well-to-do communities, you'll never see this. It would be an outrage. They would have never gotten a permit," said one upset man.

Cemetery officials disagree. They say with the money they've been raising, they've transformed what was an abandoned, forgotten place into a cultural heritage park.