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Cypress Hills, Brooklyn: Cemeteries Along Jamaica Avenue

Cypress Hills, New York

Pictures from Cypress Hills

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Blessed Sacrament Church Franklin K. Lane High School

Cypress Hills is a subsection of East New York in Brooklyn's Community District 5, and its ridge was given over to burial grounds before it was given over to houses. Cypress Hills Cemetery was chartered by New York State on April 27, 1847 and dedicated the following year; Beth Olam followed in 1851, founded by three Manhattan congregations; and Cypress Hills National Cemetery was established in 1862 to bury Union casualties. Houses arrived with the trains: elevated rail reached the area on the Jamaica Avenue Line in 1885 and the Fulton Street Line in 1889, and the area was annexed as the 26th Ward of the City of Brooklyn in 1886 before consolidation into New York City in 1898. Historically Italian, German and Irish, Cypress Hills recorded a Hispanic or Latino population of 60.9% at the 2020 census.

  1. 225 acres of non-sectarian rural cemetery dedicated in 1848, with Jackie Robinson, Mae West and Eubie Blake among the interments.

  2. The only United States National Cemetery in New York City, with 1886 gates and an 1887 visitors' lodge holding a museum.

  3. Calvert Vaux designed its 1882 Metaher house and gates, the only religious building he is known to have designed.

  4. A five-acre neighborhood park on Euclid Avenue that the city acquired in 1929.

  5. A community garden on Chestnut Street, added to the NYC Parks system in 2016.

  6. A landmarked school on Linwood Street, designated in 1981 and still in use, so the interest is in the facade.

  7. A second Cypress Hills school landmarked on the same day in 1981, on Richmond Street.

A ridge of burial grounds

Three cemeteries account for most of the ground here, and each was founded for a different constituency.

Cypress Hills Cemetery was chartered on April 27, 1847 and dedicated on November 21, 1848 as a non-sectarian rural cemetery; its founders chose an elevated, wooded hilltop over cheaper lowland for what they described as seclusion, privacy and pensive tranquility. It now covers 225 acres split by the Jackie Robinson Parkway, with more than 400,000 interments, among them Jackie Robinson, Mae West, Piet Mondrian, the boxer James J. Corbett and Eubie Blake, and two chapels, the Cypress Hills Abbey of 1926 and the Memorial Abbey of 1936.

Beth Olam Cemetery was founded in 1851 by three Manhattan Jewish congregations, Shearith Israel, B'nai Jeshurun and Temple Shaaray Tefila. Its 1882 Metaher house and gates were designed by Calvert Vaux, co-designer of Central Park, and are the only religious building he is known to have designed; they carry Tiffany stained glass and LaFarge bronze doors. Benjamin Cardozo, Emma Lazarus and the chess champion Emanuel Lasker are buried there, and the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 16, 2016.

Cypress Hills National Cemetery, established in 1862, is the only United States National Cemetery within New York City. Its wrought-iron main gates date from 1886 and its visitors' lodge from 1887, and it holds more than 21,100 interments spanning the Revolutionary War through Vietnam, including 24 Medal of Honor recipients.

Getting there

The elevated BMT Jamaica Line is the neighborhood's spine, and the J and Z serve its stations here.

Cypress Hills station stands at Hemlock Street and Jamaica Avenue and is the easternmost station in Brooklyn on the line. Crescent Street is at Crescent Street and Fulton Street. Norwood Avenue is a Jamaica Line station in Cypress Hills as well, served by the J at all times other than rush hour and by the Z during rush hours in the peak direction; neither the A nor the C stops there.

The nearest Long Island Rail Road stop is East New York, on the Atlantic Branch at Atlantic Avenue and Havens Place, which sits between the East New York and Ocean Hill neighborhoods rather than in Cypress Hills itself.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Cypress Hills?
By the elevated BMT Jamaica Line, on the J and Z. Its stations here include Cypress Hills, at Hemlock Street and Jamaica Avenue, Crescent Street, at Crescent Street and Fulton Street, and Norwood Avenue. The nearest Long Island Rail Road station is East New York, on the Atlantic Branch, which sits in East New York and Ocean Hill.
Who is buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery?
Among more than 400,000 interments are Jackie Robinson, Mae West, Piet Mondrian, the boxer James J. Corbett and Eubie Blake. The cemetery covers 225 acres, split by the Jackie Robinson Parkway, and remains active and open to visitors.
What makes Cypress Hills National Cemetery unusual?
It is the only United States National Cemetery within New York City. Established in 1862 for Union Civil War casualties, it holds more than 21,100 interments including 24 Medal of Honor recipients, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. It stopped accepting new veteran burials when space was exhausted in 1954 but remains open to visitors.
Why is Beth Olam Cemetery architecturally significant?
Its 1882 Metaher house and gates were designed by Calvert Vaux, co-designer of Central Park, and are the only religious building he is known to have designed. They include Tiffany stained glass and LaFarge bronze doors.
Are there hotels in Cypress Hills?
No hotel is listed here, which fits a residential neighborhood, and the neighbouring East Brooklyn pages list none either. Visitors should plan on staying elsewhere in the city.

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