GREEN-WOOD HEIGHTS — Decades-long president of the renowned Green-Wood Cemetery and an iconic figure in the community Richard Moylan is not a big fan of the word legacy, he told the Brooklyn Eagle in an exclusive interview.
Moylan has accomplished so much in his lengthy tenure as president.
Richard Moylan alongside Sara Durkacs, vice president of Lot Holder Relations, and secretary. Photo by Wayne Daren Schneiderman
Green-Wood Cemetery (est. 1838), a National Historic Landmark, is the permanent residence of over 570,000 individuals. It is the final resting place for the likes of the publisher Horace Greeley, piano maker William Steinway, conductor Leonard Bernstein and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Its magnificent grounds, grand architecture and world-class statuary have made it a destination for half a million visitors annually, including tourists and locals. Moylan is a primary force behind the cemetery’s achievements.
More than a cemetery
According to Moylan, the appeal of the 478-acre cemetery is a number of things. “It’s the landscape for one, the design of the place, the winding roads and paths where you never know what’s coming around the bend.”
Richard Moylan on the Green-Wood grounds. Photo by Wayne Daren Schneiderman
Moylan, 70, spent his entire career at Green-Wood, starting as a grass cutter when he was in law school in the 1970s. His father and grandfather were contractors who installed, cleaned and restored monuments at Green-Wood. His father was buried there in 1982 and his mother was buried there in 1995.
Moylan officially announced his retirement as president of Green-Wood in 2024. He will officially step down from his position at the end of June. Meera Joshi, a former deputy mayor under the Adams Administration, will be filling the role.
“Green-Wood has been a part of my life for so many decades. I’ll miss the grounds, but I’ll especially miss the people,” said Richard Moylan. Photo by Wayne Daren Schneiderman
After Green-Wood
Looking ahead, what does the future hold in store for Moylan?
“Green-Wood has been a part of my life for so many decades,” he said. “I’ll certainly miss the grounds, but I’ll especially miss the people. It’s been suggested that I should consult, but I don’t know if I could do cemetery consulting for another cemetery. I’m not sure it’s in me. All I’ll probably think about is, ‘How will this work for Green-Wood?’”
Moylan pointed out that while he is far from a workaholic and occasionally loves to do nothing, his job has always taken precedence.
Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark, is a destination for half a million visitors annually. Photo by Wayne Daren Schneiderman
“I had quadruple bypass four years ago, but once I was okay, I haven’t missed a day’s work since,” he said.
Accomplishments, including the new welcome center
Since becoming president in 1986, Moylan, along with his team at Green-Wood, have accomplished significant projects for the historic cemetery, including dignified and caring memorial services; green burials and environmentally-friendly alternatives to traditional burials; creating a department of public programming to expand the arts as Green-Wood inspires culture; Green-Wood’s arboretum of over 8,600 trees which made climate resilience a key priority for the cemetery; and community engagement, which has been one of Moylan’s key objectives from the outset.
Rendering of a full-service visitors center, one of the legacies of Green-Wood President Rich Moylan, soon to open to the public. Photo courtesy of Green-Wood Cemetery.
Green-Wood is also approaching the completion of a 25,000 square foot welcome center located across the street from the main entrance at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue. It will combine the restored Victorian-era Weir Greenhouse with a new building and be a community space for public programs, a mini-museum, a setting for research and education and more. It is slated to open in spring 2026.
“The greenhouse is going to be a very flexible space,” Moylan said. “We hope to do little concerts there and a lot of other different things. The exhibits in the greenhouse will all be movable.”
“I always said we’re never going to be the Central Park Conservancy,” Moylan confessed. “But you have to keep reinventing yourself like we’re doing with the center — thinking of new ways to bring people in.”
Asked what his father and grandfather would say about Green-Wood today, Moylan paused and smiled. “That’s a really interesting question,” he said. “I can’t say for sure, but I’d like to think that they would both approve.”
Moylan will be honored at the “Gala for Green-Wood” on Wednesday, June 4.
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