Young adults learn to restore history and build careers at Green-Wood Cemetery
It’s a paid internship that teaches hands-on skills such as masonry, safety and restoration — all while helping preserve four historic mausoleums on the cemetery grounds.
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A group of young adults in Brooklyn is doing more than just learning a trade — they’re helping restore pieces of local history while preparing for careers in construction.
Right now, 13 trainees are working at Green-Wood Cemetery through the Bridge to Crafts Careers program. It’s a paid internship that teaches hands-on skills such as masonry, safety and restoration — all while helping preserve four historic mausoleums on the cemetery grounds.
“It’s a lot of work,” says trainee Chicha “Cash” Romain. “We cleared off the tops of these monuments — they were covered in debris and dirt.”
The program is run by Green-Wood Cemetery, the World Monuments Fund and Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow. It’s designed to prepare young adults for union construction jobs or careers in historic preservation. Students earn job site certifications, including Occupational Safety and health Administration safety training, during their eight weeks on site.
“This program teaches people how to work safely on beautiful monuments,” says Neela Wickremesinghe, Green-Wood’s director of restoration and preservation. “We give them the experience they don’t usually have on their first job.”
Keaton Ramjit from the World Monuments Fund says the results are real. “About 89% of people in this program go on to work in preservation,” he says.
For trainees like Romain, the work means more than just a paycheck. “Everyone here is just like me — either we don’t have much, or we need something secure and want to push ourselves forward.”
Now in its eighth year, the Bridge to Crafts Careers program continues to give young New Yorkers the skills and support they need to succeed — all while helping preserve some of Brooklyn’s most treasured historic sites.
