Real estate has always been pricey in New York, but living six feet under just got more expensive. Across Brooklyn, funeral homes are losing money because many families cannot afford what they might have once paid to bury their relatives. While the economic downturn does not affect the death rate, many families are choosing to cremate instead of bury, saving between $2,000 and $4,000. And that's not their only concession.

From handmade funeral programs to shopping around online for the lowest prices, Brooklynites are economizing, often times changing their original plans and opting for a more frugal funeral.

Lamar Brown is a third-generation funeral director at Robeson and Brown Funeral Home in Bedford-Stuyvesant. For the past 70 years his father and grandfather have offered traditional services as a family funeral home on Gates Avenue. Today, "we've become more like a bid," says Brown. "It's not traditional anymore -- it's not 'we took care of your family for years' -- it's all about expense. Nobody cares about the quality."

Cremation costs between $1,000 and $3,500. Out of the 200 services a year handled by the Davis-Armstrong Funeral Home in Flatbush, 25 percent are cremations, with the number increasing yearly. "Cremations are an inexpensive way of disposing a person," according to manager William Armstrong.

Since the early 1980’s cremations have become more common, increasing about eight percent every year, according to the Cremation Association of North America. Nationally, 32 percent of deaths resulted in cremation in 2005, up from 27 percent in 2001.

To bury a person in Brooklyn costs between $4,000 to $6,000, if it’s even possible. Many of the gravesites throughout the borough are full or require that the family own a title, or deed to a plot of land. Non-title gravesites in which the cemetery controls the grounds “are getting outrageous,” says Frank Guido of Guido Funeral Homes in Carroll Gardens and Fort Greene. “It’s $15,000 for a single grave in Green-Wood Cemetery.”  If a family chooses to do a burial, many times the funeral directors suggest burying in New Jersey, where costs range from $300 to $2,000.

The casket, which is not included in the burial price, can run from $600 to $3,500. “It’s the difference between a Chevrolet and a Cadillac,” says William Armstrong of Davis-Armstrong. Just as people shop around for funeral homes, an increasing number of families are acquiring caskets from outside sources. “People are purchasing them online” says Brown, “I’ve even heard of Costco selling caskets.” With a price point of $900 up to $2,500, Costco offers 17 different casket varieties on their website, with free shipping and handling included.

Rather than buying a casket outright, many families are renting a casket for the funeral services and then cremating or burying their relative. Through different rental agencies, families can rent a casket and an interior lining complete with fresh linens and interior stuffing, which is subsequently burned when the person is cremated or buried. According to Brown, casket rentals at Robeson and Brown Funeral Home have increased from last year by 75 percent.

Most families have a funeral service even if they decide on cremation. Lowering funeral costs, families have begun limiting their types of services. Rather than having a viewing the day before as was common about a year ago, some Brooklynites are scheduling a one-day service with a viewing in the morning and a burial immediately proceeding, according to Brown. Another option is to have a night service with a next day gravesite funeral.

“Death is something you can’t avoid,” says Gary Bocock, Funeral Director George Hassler Funeral Home in Jackson, New Jersey, where some Brooklyn residents have gone to arrange a less expensive funeral. “Right now we don’t feel the initial crunch, we don’t see the full effect, but the economy is forcing more people all at one time to think about death, it has to be done.”

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