WEST SENECA, N.Y. — "It's a park like setting ... beautiful," said Kathi Rozewski, as she stood near her son's grave in the Garden of St. Mark's section of St. Matthew's Cemetery in West Seneca.
It was the fountain in particular here, which attracted her to the spot she chose as her son Eric's final resting place when she had his cremains buried here.
Now there are plans to remove the fountain and build a new columbarium for other cremated remains.
"I've spoken and my mother has spoken to numerous people whose family members are buried here and they agree they don't want that eyesore in the center of the garden," Rozewski told WGRZ-TV.
No one from the Forest Lawn group, which owns and operates the cemetery, would appear on camera to speak with 2 On Your Side.
However, in a statement, a representative noted that the 30-year-old fountain, now covered by plywood, hasn't functioned in some time. They also noted that even when it did, it would be shut off for several months of the year due to weather conditions.
"With the majority of Western New Yorkers now choosing cremation, demand for above ground cremation inurnment space continues to rise. ... The current cremation inurnment options at St. Matthew's are very limited." the statement said.
"It seems to me there are numerous places they can put that (columbarium) and not in the middle of the garden," said Rozewski.
She also claims to have paid a premium for her son's burial spot because it was in a desired section of the cemetery near the fountain, and has not gotten any word of a refund.
There are several signs inside the cemetery informing visitors of the plans, with an image of what the planned columbarium would look like, and instructions on how to submit feedback during a public comment period, which concludes on May 1.
Rozewski does not feel that's an adequate way to get the word out about it.
"There's a lot of elderly people who don't come here until it gets warmer," Rozewski said. "They don't know what's going on, so I reached out to you, so that those people could be part of this decision."