The snowstorm that slammed the Northeast on Saturday, only to dribble away on Sunday, caused a major impact in the city’s parks. In fact, the Central Park Conservancy is estimating a toll of almost 1,000 trees; organization director Douglas Blonsky called it the worst devastation he’s seen in his 27 years at the park, the New York Times reported.
Because trees still have leaves, the sudden storm put more pressure on them than if it had fallen on bare branches. The Central Park Conservancy is asking for donations to help clean up and replant. The conservancy expects the restoration to last through next spring and thinks the bill will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“The destruction is staggering: we estimate that nearly 1,000 trees will be lost as a result of this storm. The Halloween storm comes on the heels of Hurricane Irene, but is far more extensive and severe than what we witnessed in August. The damage in the Park is focused south of 86th Street, which is by far the most visited section of the Park.
Conservancy tree crews will inspect every tree that lost branches or limbs in the storm and determine if selective pruning or total removal is necessary. Their assessment began over the weekend, and will continue through the rest of the year. Please help us to restore New York City’s backyard.”
Amazing shot of downed tree at subway entrance on Central Park West near Trump Tower by @SpanishNY. For a more “romantic” shot of the storm, check out this post.
