NYC Death Dispatch: June 2026
A collection of death- and grief-related events across the five boroughs.
We’re back with a packed June issue. Events in all five boroughs, opportunities to mourn, honor, and learn, plus yoga, Father’s Day gatherings, and a collaging workshop for clinicians.
Register in advance as a courtesy to organizers and to secure your spot. A couple of the events have already moved to a waitlist, so make sure to plan ahead and show up.
Also, the zine version of the newsletter, a pocket-sized quick reference guide to everything happening this month, is available at Sparrow Funeral Home, the Morbid Anatomy Library, and Quimby’s Bookstore. Get in touch if you’d like some copies for an event or your place of business or just for yourself.
Happening soon
🧘🏻♀️ GATHERING | Tue Jan 2: Meeting Mortality
Go deeper into your relationship with mortality through meditation and breathwork. Facilitated by a death doula and a percussionist.
$35 | 6:30-8:30 pm | 68 White St, Manhattan
🗣️ TALK | Wed Jun 3: Unpacking AANHPI Grief
Chinese-American grief coach Charlene Lam will debunk myths about grief, and address cultural taboos around grief, death, and dying.
$5 | 6-8 pm | The Hub, 115 Bowery, Manhattan
🍃 WORKSHOP | Sat Jun 6: Death, Decay, and Decomposition
Explore ancestral and cultural death practices and how composting teaches us about healthy living and dying.
$15 suggested | 2-4 pm | Clifton Place Memorial Park and Garden, 1031 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn
🗣️ MEETUP | Sat Jun 6: Grief Support Club
Join others who get it in this safe space to share, listen, and heal together. Organized by the We Stand With You foundation.
Free | 11 am-1 pm | Clove Lakes Park, 1150 Clove Road, Staten Island
🕯️ GATHERING | Sun Jun 7: Mizuko Kuyo Ceremony for Loss
Take part in a Buddhist ceremony for those who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, or lost a child in the first years of life.
$25 suggested | 2-4 pm | NY Zen Center, 119 W 23rd Street, Suite 401, Manhattan
🚶🏻♂️ TOUR | Sun Jun 7 NYC Workers Circle Cemetery Walking Tour
Visit the resting place of the Jewish socialists and Yiddish cultural figures who laid the foundation for the Jewish Left in NYC.
Free | 12-3 pm | Old Mt Carmel Cemetery, 83-45 Cypress Hills Street, Queens
🗣️ GATHERING | Tue June 9: Grieve & Gather: Fathers
Join a grounding, LGBTQ+-affirming space to honor the loss of fathers, grandfathers, and other paternal figures.
From $10 | 6:30-8 pm | BOYFRIEND Co-op, 1157 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn
📚 TALK | Wed Jun 10: Ghost Stories & Flower Bearers: Echoes of Love and Memory
Authors Rachel Eliza Griffiths and Siri Hustvedt will discuss the architecture of memory and what transforms loss into meaning.
Free | 6:30-8 pm | Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, Manhattan
📚 BOOK LAUNCH | Thu Jun 11: Hilary Plattner, The Momma Puzzle
Plattner will share her memoir about investigating the life of her mother, who died by suicide when she was six.
Free | 6:30-8 pm | Lofty Pigeon Books, 743 Church Avenue, Brooklyn
🧘🏻♀️ MEETUP | Sat Jun 13: Grief Yoga
Navigate loss through mindful movement and breathwork. No prior experience necessary.
$75 | 9:30 am-12 pm | Fit4Dance, 21 Snyder Ave, Brooklyn
🚶🏻♂️TOUR | Sun Jun 14: Gay Gothic: Love, Loss, and the Hereafter
Explore what death and memorialization have looked like for Queer people throughout Green-Wood’s 188-year history.
Free | 1-3 pm | Green-Wood Cemetery, 500 25th St, Brooklyn
📚 BOOK TALK | Sun June 14: Alix Strauss, The Joy of Funerals
In honor of its 20th anniversary, Strauss revisits her novel about a 30-something woman who attends other people’s funerals.
Free | 2 pm | Woodlawn Cemetery, Woolworth Chapel, 4199 Webster Ave, Bronx
Later this month
✍️ TALK | Tue Jun 16: Writing About Grief, Loss, & Illness
Memoirists Stephen Policoff, Elizabeth Benedict, and Ann Gorewitz discuss their personal stories, how they coped, and what they learned.
Free | 5:30-7 pm | Tompkins Square Library, 331 East 10th Street, Manhattan
🗣️ MEETUP | Tue Jun 16: Tea and Mortality
A casual gathering to talk about death, life, and everything in between, over tea and treats.
$5 suggested | 5:30-7:30 pm | Neighbor, 176 9th Ave, Manhattan
🗣️ MEETUP | Tue Jun 16: Dead Parents Club
A new monthly space where you can feel safe knowing nobody will flinch if you bring up details, reflect on mortality, or make a morbid joke.
$33-77/month, 3-month min | 6:30-8 pm | Bed-Stuy, address shared after registration
🚶🏻♂️TOUR | Thu Jun 18: Lower Manhattan Cemetery Stroll
Explore the burial history and practices of six distinct cultures in NYC.
$50 | 10:30 am-12:30 pm | Leave from Trinity Church, 89 Broadway, Manhattan
🗣️ MEETUP | Thu Jun 18: Death Cafe
Join in community to talk about death and mortality over soul-nourishing drinks.
Free | 6-8 pm | Ruhani Cafe, 519 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn
✂️ WORKSHOP | Sat Jun 20: Mourning Practice: A Grief Workshop for Clinicians
Learn how to work with clients whose collective grief mirrors your own, and use collage to create a ritual object. 3 CE credits.
$175 | 12-3 pm | 150 W 28th St, Ste 1402, Manhattan
🎨 MEETUP | Sun Jun 21: Dead Dads Club Painting Party
For those grieving the loss of a father, father figure, or other loved one. Some art supplies provided, or bring your own.
$10 | 6-8 pm | Sparrow Funeral Home, 161 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn
🎭 PERFORMANCE | Thu Jun 25: COMMITTED?
It took over 30 years for Lisa Robins to create something for her brother who died by suicide. The result is this solo show.
$15-50 | 7-8:30 pm | Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street, Manhattan
Ongoing
🎤 POP-UP | Grief on the Streets
Your grief story will be recorded and placed in a time capsule. Follow @griefonthestreets on IG to find out about upcoming appearances.
Free | Various dates and locations in June
🗣️ Monthly meetups
These free, ongoing series have an open format and are spaces to find support, be curious, and share experiences. Check the links for all the details.
Sat June 13: Death Cafe @ New York Public Library
First come, first seated | 3:30-4:30 pm | Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, Room 304, 455 5th Ave, Manhattan
Sun Jun 14: Grief Support Circle @ QED
Free with $5 café purchase | 5-7 pm | 27-16 23rd Avenue, Astoria
Mon Jun 15: Brooklyn Mourners Common @ Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
7-8:15 pm | 269 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
Tue Jun 16: Grieving and Weaving @ Green-Wood Cemetery
6:30-8:30 pm | 500 25th St, Brooklyn
Wed Jun 17: Good Life/Good Death Cafe @ Brooklyn Public Library
2-3:30 | Park Slope Library, 431 6th Ave, Brooklyn
Thu Jun 18: Life and Death Discussion Group @ Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
6:30-8:30 pm | 269 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
Mon Jun 22: Death Cafe @ New York Society for Ethical Culture
3-4:30 pm | 2 West 64th Street, Manhattan
Sun Jun 28: The Open Door Death Cafe @ Creative Mornings
1-2:30 pm | Manhattan, address shared after registration
Tue Jun 30: Death Cafe @ Green-Wood Cemetery
6:30-8 pm | 500 25th St, Brooklyn
Registration and ticket policies vary by event. Double-check details before attending in case I mis-typed something.
Endnotes
I was in Vermont last month and decided to listen to Rumble Strip, a podcast by Erica Heilman about the everyday lives of everyday people inVermont. It’s human and intimate and patient, sometimes a bit slow, because she lets people just talk and be. A farmer friend makes a wooden casket for his wife. A barber recounts his service in Vietnam. A home euthanasia vet goes to an appointment.
The Peabody Award-winning episode “Finn and the Bell,” about a community grieving after teenager Finn Rooney commits suicide, is an incredible piece of audio journalism. Towards the end, Finn’s mother talks at length about what happened to her in the moments after he died, how her mind did somersaults and she saw the past and future at once, and finally, “I understood for a second why we were alive, and it felt like it was for each other.” I highly recommend listening to all of her words, and being alive for each other.