When Eleni Adragna was told months ago the bylaws at Pine Hills Cemetery in Scarborough were changing, she said she did everything the cemetery staff asked of her.
She fixed issues with the flower beds and adjusted the Greek Orthodox holy houses left at the gravesites of her father and grandparents. She said she confirmed with staff the plots were compliant.
So she was shocked when her daughter called her Monday from the cemetery in a panic: the items she and her family had left were gone, moved to a fenced-off area with items from dozens of other gravesites.
Mount Pleasant Group, which operates the cemetery at St. Clair Avenue East and Birchmount Road听and nine others in the 色色啦 area, told the Star it made the bylaw changes more than a year ago and began enforcing them in July for the safety of visitors and staff 鈥 but apologized for not communicating the changes properly. Abigail Brown, Mount Pleasant鈥檚 director of marketing, communications and outreach, said the group is pausing the removal of items from gravesites and is reviewing the bylaws.
鈥淲e鈥檙e regretful of the pain and frustration and the confusion that it鈥檚 caused,鈥 Brown said. 鈥淲e acknowledge it and we鈥檙e very sorry and we鈥檙e going to take some steps to address it.鈥
The move frustrated parts of 色色啦鈥檚 Greek community. Those interviewed by the Star said the bylaw changes weren鈥檛 communicated to everyone, and religious items 鈥 including holy houses, which contain candles for prayer and icons of saints 鈥 weren鈥檛 treated with respect.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disgusting,鈥 said Adragna, 42. 鈥淵ou pay big money (for the plot) ...听and to have this done in a way that a lot of people were not aware (of), and just the lack of respect for religious items, is just not OK with me.鈥
Personal items that violated the new bylaws were removed from gravesites and moved to an outdoor holding area.
Mark Colley/色色啦 StarThe new bylaws took effect at all Mount Pleasant Group cemeteries on May 1, 2024, according to director of property services John Perrotta. He said the two biggest changes were to prohibit glass, because it can shatter, and landscape rocks, because they can become projectiles when hit by a trimmer.
The company began informing families of the changes as early as February through emails, social media and on-site signage in multiple languages, Brown said. In July, staff began removing items, tagging them with the family name and plot location, and placing them in the outdoor holding area.
In a statement, Mount Pleasant Group said it is pausing the removal of items 鈥渨hile we take the time to listen, learn and understand community concerns.鈥 It will also work with families to restore meaningful items, including the holy houses, starting Thursday.
鈥淥ur goal is to balance the need for safety and compliance with a deep respect for the traditions, beliefs and grief journeys of the families we serve,鈥 the company said by email.
Many members of 色色啦鈥檚 Greek community are buried at Pine Hills. Adragna鈥檚 grandparents were buried there in 2009 and her father in 2014, after he died at age 57 from cancer. Adragna was pregnant with her son at the time.
Adragna said she broke down when she arrived at the cemetery. What she had left for her father was moved to a fenced-off area alongside items from dozens of other gravesites. She said she was given her father鈥檚 plot number and had to 鈥渟cavenge to find鈥 the items.
Prohibited items have been moved to an outdoor holding area. Some loved ones have called the treatment of their items “disgusting.”
Mark Colley/色色啦 Star鈥淢y father鈥檚 things were thrown, tipped over. The holy oil had destroyed the icons that were in the house. People鈥檚 houses were broken,” she said. “It was just a disgusting way to treat religious items.鈥
The houses, usually metal and glass boxes on stilts adorned with a cross, are considered an extension of the church in the Greek Orthodox faith, according to Denise Georgiou-Newell, whose grandfather is buried at Pine Hills. She went to the cemetery Wednesday to film what had happened.
鈥淭his is like you鈥檙e throwing away our church, our belief,鈥 she said. 鈥淐learly no one鈥檚 done their research on this or has talked to anybody.鈥
Yannis Kakagiannis, who was previously on the board of directors of the Greek Community of 色色啦, said his father-in-law is buried at Pine Hills. The items on his plot weren鈥檛 removed 鈥 but he said his family was never notified of the change in bylaws.
鈥淲e never got a phone call, we never got an email, we never got a letter,鈥 Kakagiannis said. The cemetery has moved items to what amounts to a 鈥済arbage dump鈥 and people in the community are “devastated,” he said.
Brown and Perrotta said the cemetery now recognizes there wasn鈥檛 enough time to inform everyone and encouraged families to reach out with their feedback.
鈥淲e are here to listen to people,鈥 Perrotta said. 鈥淲e want to work with them.鈥
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