City Orders Decorations, Crosses Be Removed From Graves

CLEVELAND -- The city of Cleveland is warning relatives of people buried in the city's 12 cemeteries to remove crosses and other decorations from graves or have them taken away.

The city's decision has caught people off guard and is sure to upset more.

The city said it is simply enforcing a policy that has been in place for 14 years, but the families that contacted NewsChannel5 said its enforcement will diminish the memory of hundreds buried in the cemeteries.

The families contacted NewsChannel5's Troubleshooter team after receiving a notice from the city of Cleveland. Starting on June 2, hundreds of grave decorations will be removed from city-run cemeteries.

Cleveland Parks and Recreation Director Mike Cox said the city is simply implementing strict enforcement of a grave decoration policy because of rising maintenance costs, stating that crosses can be kept up during the winter and seven days after a holiday.

But it's little consolation to families, some who still haven't discovered the removal notices from the city that were left stapled to the crosses in plastic bags more than a month ago.

The Troubleshooter team asked the city to extend the deadline until after Father's Day, which falls on June 21. The decision should be made by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, if you have a cross up at a Cleveland cemetery it will need to be taken down or it could be removed within several weeks.