Closing Bell: Recession Era Fun in Brooklyn

Saw this article in today’s Staten Island Advance. Thought all you Green-Wood fans would enjoy the read and would be interested to know about the booksigning.
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Author peeks into past with book about cemetery

Sunday, January 11, 2009
By ANDREA BOYARSKY
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — There are many ways to learn about history. You could read a textbook, visit a museum or chat with an old-timer. Or, perhaps, you could visit a cemetery.

The latter would be Alexandra Kathryn Mosca’s suggestion. In her new book, “Green-Wood Cemetery,” part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series, the writer and funeral director delves into the history and famous names buried in the Brooklyn cemetery.
The cemetery also is the resting place of many Staten Islanders and their family members, some of whom made the move over the bridge from Brooklyn.

“What I hope is that it reacquaints people with the history of the city and with America,” said Ms. Mosca, a Sea Cliff, L.I., resident who directs a funeral home in Queens. “The people [buried there] are so compelling and interesting, they have given so much to society.”

The famous names buried within the 478-acre cemetery established in 1838 include former Gov. DeWitt Clinton; William Magear “Boss” Tweed, a corrupt New York state senator who died in jail; George Tilyou, founder of Coney Island’s Steeplechase Park, and Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum, a Civil War veteran who represented New York in the House of Representatives.

There also are titans of industries buried within: William Colgate, who started what is now Colgate-Palmolive; Juan Trippe, founder of Pan American World Airways; Frederick August Otto Schwarz, founder of toy store FAO Schwarz; German chemist Charles Pfizer, who started the pharmaceutical company, and Henry Steinway, the piano maker.

“I love history and I think many people do and it’s a fun way to learn about it,” Ms. Mosca said of the cemetery.

The book, which features numerous historical photos, was published in September and took Ms. Mosca about nine months to complete. During that time, she made countless visits to Green-Wood and did much research. “Once I got through reading about it, the subject matter was so compelling, I just kept reading,” she said.

This is Ms. Mosca’s second book. Her first, “Grave Undertakings” (New Horizon Press), chronicles her career as a woman in the funeral industry. She is currently working on her next untitled book, a fiction piece about a reluctant funeral director who finds herself involved in a murder mystery. There’s scene set at Green-Wood and the murder victim is from Staten Island.

She also contributes to American Cemetery and American Funeral Director magazines and has written articles on funerals of the famous, including Margaret Mitchell, Eva Peron, Marilyn Monroe and John Gotti.

Alexandra Mosca will sign copies of the book at the Barnes and Nobles in Park Slope, Brooklyn, 267 Seventh Ave., on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The text below is from a piece in todays AMNY Newspaper. After reading the comments above about visiting Green-Wood Cemetery, it seemed the perfect post. There is an unusual photo of the angel of death monument on the AMNY website along with this article.

New book traces Green-Wood’s ghostly past
by Lauren Johnston

When it comes to ghostly haunts, Green-Wood Cemetery has an esteemed list of resident spirits. The gravesites of notable New Yorkers cover its 478 acres, including the likes of Peter Cooper, Charles Pfizer, “Boss” Tweed and artist Jean Michel Basquiat.

We talked to author Alexandra Kathryn Mosca, who is also a funeral director, about her new pictorial book, “Green-Wood Cemetery,” to learn more about its haunted history.

Q: What was your most surprising discovery while researching?
A: One of the people I found was Dr. August Renouard. When I was coming up as a funeral director, the old-timers would talk about him. He was considered the father of modern day embalming. To a funeral director, that was significant.

Q: Which gravesite is the spookiest?
A: There is a really strange gravestone. It belonged to [former mayor of Brooklyn] Charles Schieren. The mayor and his wife died a few days apart, they both had pneumonia. The monument is the angel of death. I think it’s one of the eeriest.

Q: You’ve written about many cemeteries, what makes Green-Wood special?
A: It’s almost a history – certainly of New York, but also of America as well. The people [buried there] are nationally known, names like Steinway, FAO Schwarz. Everybody knows these names.

Q: What new things will New Yorkers learn about Green-Wood from your book?
A: These names like [Horace] Greeley, Peter Cooper, we learn these as children and over the years, the accomplishments of these people become vague. I think this reacquaints them with the history of New York.

Q: How much time did you spend exploring the cemetery while writing?
A: I went there several days a week and walked the grounds and it was so amazing, even in the winter. You would just turn a corner and discover something.

Mosca will lead a cemetery trolley tour based on her book on Nov. 23 at 1 p.m., followed by an author Q & A, $20 for the tour, $30 for the tour and a copy of the book. “Green-Wood Cemetery,” Arcadia Publishing, $19.99.

Awww..why’d ya have to go telling everyone about the Cobble Hill Cinema’s cheap nights?

BMA sucks since they put it on a spaceship and got a curator who thinks curating means throwing the whole collection up on the walls willy-nilly. They wrecked it. Ain’t worth a penny anymore.

Why don’t y’all bag the Brooklyn Bridge, leave it for the tourists, and try the Manhattan Bridge!

Much better view, right over the water, almost have the place to yourself. Excellent and interesting ironwork.

Here’s the view…
http://www.pbase.com/dentontay/image/82089545

Eat in Chinatown, buy some super-fresh and cheap fish, and walk back over the BB.

Greenwood is my favorite. That was one of my suggestions. Maybe, I’ll pack the sandwiches and head there on Saturday.

Sorry, Biff…I’ve been on you all day. Now I have to draft a super nice post to you.