Amy Cunningham

We serve New Yorkers of all races, secular and religious backgrounds, and we welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families with open arms.

We understand that family comes in all forms and are happy to work with whoever is organizing the funeral and can serve as a signed designated legal agent, whether that agent is biological family, chosen family, or close friends of the deceased. Our staff is also uniquely skilled with pregnancy loss and miscarriage rituals.

We are active members of the Funeral Consumer's Alliance (FCA), the National Home Funeral Alliance (NHFA), Green Burial Council, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA), the National Funeral Director's Association (NFDA). The Cooperative Funeral Fund is our pre-need funeral fund management company.

A lot of people seem to assume that all cremations are direct cremations without eulogies, or a gathering, or time spent with the deceased before the cremation occurs. We help families hold fuller funerals, saying goodbye indoors in Green-Wood’s crematory chapels or outdoors under a weeping beech tree in the cemetery, all prior to the casket’s final transfer to the crematory. You can decorate the simple casket however you like—with family photos, flowers, drawings and letters. If you have young children in your family, we will help you involve them in the farewell.

From legacy work prior to death to cremation arranging, we are here for you and ready to help you think it out. If the death is due to occur in a residence under the loving supervision of hospice, we will coach you through the bathing and dressing of your family member after death if you find that meaningful. We will bring a cremation casket to your home to decorate if that’s something you or your children might find engaging. You can write letters or poems that we’ll attach to the casket for you if you’d rather not meet us at Green-Wood, but you can come to witness the casket’s arrival to Green-Wood Cemetery’s crematory if you like.

One final note: most Jewish New Yorkers know that cremation is not the traditional choice for their family members. We will answer all your questions in a sensitive way, weigh out every option, and help you make the best decision if you feel you have no money for city grave space, or if your family is divided on what's the truest expression of Jewish values.

We’re committed to helping families find sustainable ways to bid farewell. We know the state’s greenest grave spaces, and Amy often saves people money by driving the deceased to the cemetery herself.

There’s still some confusion over what an earth-friendly funeral is. Some people think cremation is “greener” than burial because cremation requires little to no cemetery space. In truth, when you are speaking of one of the green cemeteries within two hours of New York City, or father upstate, you can give back to the planet and sometimes protect rural property by burying yourself in it. Cemetery laws prohibit highways or shopping malls from coming to land that has deceased people in it, so in using a conservation cemetery, you are helping to keep gorgeously-wooded, rural properties safe from development. It may take a moment to bend your mind around this concept. We can also bury deceased people wrapped in shrouds without any casket at all in a green cemetery, something many funeral firms don’t truly endorse and something too many conventional cemeteries don’t yet allow (both Green-Wood and The Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn are now in the elite vanguard).

Folks who bury a family member in a green cemetery are sad a death has occurred, but elated by their participation in an end-of-life ritual that signals a return to the simpler burial practices of 170 years ago. Grave prep is more natural and aesthetically pleasing: no phony Astro-turf covers the displaced soil, and evergreen boughs are available to help decorate or fill. Cemetery workers at Greensprings and Steelmantown let family members lower the casket themselves and all green grounds allow families to slowly shovel soil back into the grave to fill it, if that is their desire. You’ll also never see a grave-worker look harried or check his wristwatch at a green burial ground. The space is yours and you’ll be given ample graveside time.

Some of our closest friends still might say, “Oh God, just cremate me.” But for those who love nature, history, and old-fashioned ritual, and for those whose custom has always been simple and green (Jews, Muslims among others), it’s a no-brainer: Green burial in a natural burial ground–without an embalming, metal casket or vault–is a gracious, gorgeous, uplifting way to “go.” Still undecided? You might want to watch this film on the very green burial of Steve Sall.

If your loved one dies at home while in the care of hospice, you may delay the transfer and hold a wake in your residence.

Trained as a home funeral guide by Jerrigrace Lyons and Olivia Bareham, I’m a proud member of the National Home Funeral Alliance, a group that is reviving the old-fashioned home-based wake which helps families embrace death-–be it sudden or expected–- and gives them the freedom to grieve more deeply and authentically in the place they're most comfortable. Especially effective and simple when death occurs at home in the care of hospice and end-of-life doulas, the house or apartment can become a meaning-infused venue, the most natural of all funeral chapels, a place where liminal time and space can be experienced, even savored, by family and close friends.

Home funerals can last from thirty minutes to three days with the help of dry ice to keep the body cool. Such vigils tend to be intimate, slower paced, and highly participatory--with family members bathing and dressing the deceased if they're up for that, staying on to witness, connect, play music and exchange family stories in the warmth of candle light. Most celebrants and clergy members commend the courage of families who hold services like these. At the conclusion of any home funeral, our firm is on hand to accompany the decedent to Green-Wood's crematory in Brooklyn, or a cemetery of the family's choosing.

We'll help you create a memorial event or life celebration. We’ll also help you re-think and re-do a past funeral that wasn’t satisfactory. We can help you orchestrate any sort of in-person or streamed life celebration with the assistance of the folks at Muldowney Memorials. We'll help you email invitations to your guests, book musical talent, manage your slide show with beautifully scanned photos, and help you with scripture, poetry and tech support for the gathering at a venue that perfectly suits the individual we’re honoring.

Some families want the urn of cremated remains to be present, some wish to rent a boat for a scattering service, others plan an outdoor, catered life commemorating meal with loving eulogies, toasts and salutes. We'll help you organize the gathering to place an urn into a cemetery niche, or think out the earth burial of an urn with subsequent gravestone unveiling.

For a "living funeral,” we can help you assemble a heart-centered tribute with testimonials flowing both ways while someone with a terminal diagnosis is still alive. For someone quite elderly or frail, the recognition of a significant birthday serves this same function. It is the fantasy of an increasing number of gravely ill people to be able to attend their own life celebration service. They want to say goodbye to you too. Now they can. We'll help you think it out and share with you our thoughts and experiences.

We don't sell metal caskets. All of our wooden boxes are rabbi approved, and manufactured with wooden dowels, the right kind of glue, with all parts free of metal. The willow and bamboo caskets are biodegradable, but made in China.

White and brown felted wool caskets are imported from England, but boy, are they gorgeous. Cost can vary depending on species, finish and interior. Ask us for the names of carpenters we know who can create a custom box for you.

Here’s a straightforward look at what you can expect to pay. The services listed below are not comprehensive, but those which are typically purchased. Contact us to learn more about other products and services, but nothing is hidden or bundled without explanation.

Planning & Arrangements

• Basic arrangements and planning: $2,495
  Includes initial consultation, securing permits, coordinating logistics, and handling legal paperwork.
• Funeral arranging house call (within NYC): $85

Disposition Services

• Direct cremation: $2,020–$2,395
  A simple cremation without a service. Price includes transfer, permits, and basic container. Crematory fee not included.
• Direct burial: $2,920–$3,295
  Burial without a viewing or ceremony. Cemetery charges not included.
• Forwarding remains to another funeral home: $2,395
  Often used when the deceased needs to be transported to another city or state.
• Receiving remains from another funeral home: $2,095

Body Preparation (if selected)

• Embalming: $895
  Temporarily preserves the body for viewing. Not required by law unless a public viewing is planned.
• Topical disinfection: $125
  A non-invasive way to clean and prepare the body without full embalming.
• Dressing & casketing: $295
  Includes clothing the body and placing it in the casket.
• Cosmetology: $95
  Light makeup and hair styling to create a peaceful appearance.
• Refrigeration (over 6 hrs): $475
  Used instead of embalming when delays occur.

Use of Facilities & Supervision

• Funeral service (facility + staff): $1,390
  Includes use of the chapel or viewing space and staff to run the service.
• Visitation (1 evening): $475
  A period for family and friends to view the body and pay respects.
• Use of Tahara room: $420
  A sacred space used for ritual washing of the body, often in Jewish funerals.
• Home funeral vigil service (first day): $950
  Support for families holding a vigil at home; additional days billed separately.
• Memorial service at funeral home: $1,595
  A ceremony without the body present—often held after cremation.

Transportation

• Local pickup (within NYC): $900
  Includes transport from the place of death to the funeral home.
• Additional miles outside NYC: $4 per mile
• Hearse & limo (Brooklyn/Queens): $650–$640

Merchandise

• Caskets: $370–$9,395
  A wide range of styles and materials. You can also bring your own casket.
• Cardboard cremation container: $250
  An alternative to a traditional casket for cremation.
• Urns: $82–$1,200
• Outer burial containers: $1,895–$4,595
  Concrete vaults or liners required by many cemeteries to prevent ground collapse.

Cash Advance Estimates

These are third-party fees paid on your behalf. The funeral home passes them through at cost:

• NYC death certificate: $15 each
• NYC permit fee: $46
• Clergy/officiant: $350–$950
• Crematory or cemetery fees: varies