N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 148

§ 148. Burial of members of the armed forces of the United States and\ntheir families; headstones. 1. Burial. (a) The board of supervisors in\neach of the counties, or the board of estimate in the city of New York,\nshall designate some proper person, association or commission, other\nthan that designated for the care of burial of public charges or\ncriminals, who shall cause to be interred the body of any honorably\ndischarged member of the armed forces of the United States, or the body\nof any minor child or either parent, or the spouse or unremarried\nsurviving spouse of any such member of the armed forces of the United\nStates, if such person shall hereafter die in a county or in the city of\nNew York without leaving sufficient means to defray his or her funeral\nexpenses.\n (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, such counties\nor city, as the case may be, shall receive reimbursement for such\nexpense subject to the reimbursement limitations provided for in\nsubdivision five of section one hundred forty-one of the social services\nlaw, provided that such expense is otherwise eligible for state\nreimbursement pursuant to the provisions of such section.\n (c) If the deceased has relatives who desire to conduct the burial,\nbut are unable to pay the charge therefor, such sum shall be paid by the\ncounty treasurer or other fiscal officer, to the person, association or\ncommission so conducting such burial, upon due proof of the claim, made\nto such person, association or commission of the death or burial of such\nperson, and audit thereof.\n (d) Such interment shall not be made in a cemetery or cemetery plot\nused exclusively for the burial of needy persons deceased, and the board\nof supervisors of each county is hereby authorized and empowered to\npurchase and acquire lands, or to appropriate money for the purchase and\nacquisition of lands, for a cemetery or cemetery plot for the burial of\nany such persons and also to provide for the care, maintenance or\nimprovement of any cemetery or plot where such persons are buried or may\nhereafter be buried.\n * 1-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in the\ncase of an indigent veteran who died in a county or the city of New York\nleaving no funds or insurance sufficient to pay funeral and burial\nexpenses of such veteran and such veteran has no next of kin or person\nof record previously designated to control his or her final disposition\npursuant to section four thousand two hundred one of the public health\nlaw, such county or the city of New York may request a congressional\nchartered veterans' organization within the county or the city of New\nYork where the decedent resided at the time of death, to engage the\nservices of a funeral firm to conduct the funeral and burial services.\nSuch organization shall incur the costs associated with such services,\nwhich shall include but not be limited to, the purchase of a suitable\ncontainer for burial, the funeral director's prices for merchandise and\nservices furnished, cost of a grave site and a military funeral service\nat the cemetery to which such body shall be interred. The state shall\nreimburse such congressional chartered veteran organization for such\nfuneral and burial service expenses for indigent veterans, except those\nexpenses previously reimbursed pursuant to section one hundred forty-one\nof the social services law or any other law or those expenses\nreimbursable or payable by the federal government; provided however,\nthat the total reimbursement pursuant to this subdivision shall not\nexceed two thousand dollars per burial.\n * NB Effective March 21, 2016\n 2. Headstones. (a) The grave of any such person whose body has been\nheretofore or shall hereafter be so interred, or who shall have been\nheretofore buried in any of the counties of this state, but whose grave\nis not marked by a suitable headstone, if such person has died or shall\ndie without leaving means to defray the expense of such headstone, or\nwhose grave shall have remained unmarked for five years by a suitable\nheadstone, shall be marked by a headstone bearing the name of the\ndeceased, the war in which he served, and, if possible, the organization\nto which he belonged or in which he served.\n (b) The headstone at the grave of the spouse or surviving spouse of\nsuch honorably discharged member of the armed forces of the United\nStates shall contain the name of the deceased, the war in which his or\nher spouse served and, if possible, the organization to which he or she\nbelonged or in which he or she served.\n (c) Such headstone shall be of such design and material as shall be\napproved by the board of supervisors.\n (d) Where a headstone or the foundation thereof as herein provided,\nshall have become damaged by accident or the elements, it may be\nrepaired, provided the expense is less than the cost of a new headstone.\n (e) The board of supervisors of the county of which such deceased\nperson was a resident at the time of his or her death is hereby\nauthorized and directed to audit the account and pay the expenses of\nsuch burial and headstone, and a reasonable sum for the services and\nnecessary expenses of the person or commission so designated. In case\nsuch person shall be at the time of his or her death an inmate of any\nstate institution, including state hospitals and soldiers' homes, or any\ninstitution, supported by the state and supported by public expense\ntherein, the expense of such burial and headstone shall be a charge upon\nthe county of his or her legal residence.\n (f) Where the providing of a headstone is authorized in any case\npursuant to this section, and in lieu of making such provision as\nhereinbefore set forth, the board responsible for payment of the cost\nthereof may make application for a headstone in such case to any\nofficer, board, body or agency of the United States required by or\npursuant to the laws thereof to furnish a headstone without charge to\nmark the grave of the deceased person in such case and, in the event\nsuch headstone is accordingly furnished, may audit the account and pay\nthe expense incident to the obtaining and for the erection thereof,\nincluding any necessary transportation charges, in an amount not in\nexcess of the maximum sum authorized to be expended for a headstone as\nprovided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision.\n 3. Reports. It shall be the duty of the person or commission in this\nsection provided, prior to the annual meeting of the board of\nsupervisors to make an annual report to such board of supervisors of all\nthe applications since the last annual report for burial and the\nerection of tombstones as provided herein, together with the amounts\nallowed. All applications herein referred to shall accompany said annual\nreport and be placed and kept on file with the board of supervisors.\n