Central Park has begun releasing photos from the park in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and the damage is clearly substantial. Please remember: the park remains closed, and going inside will just make it more difficult on conservancy staff and police. The conservancy has hired contractors, helped by staff, to deal with the damage. They are climbing trees, chopping down limbs and trying to make the park safe for the ING Marathon Sunday. Among the trees that was destroyed is an 8,700-pound swamp white oak along the Mall.
Here’s the full photo gallery, and a statement from the conservancy:
“Hurricane Sandy has left serious damage in its wake, and we hope you’re all staying safe. Conservancy staff is hard at work clearing the transverse roads and paths, as well as pruning limbs from Fifth Avenue, Central Park West and the East Drive. Our current estimates show that approximately 250 mature trees are uprooted or compromised, and the number will increase as our staff is able to survey the Park’s interior. There has also been significant damage to the Park’s infrastructure, including benches, ballfields and fencing.
There’s a lot of work to be done in the Park to ensure safety and accessibility for all Park users and to have it ready for the ING NYC Marathon on Sunday. We ask everyone to help the Conservancy by staying out of the Park until further notice. The work we’re doing to clear storm debris can be dangerous. Please help us to work as quickly as possible by avoiding city parks, all of which are currently closed, until the damage is assessed and repaired. For the latest updates, follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
Repairs to Central Park are possible thanks to the support of our members. We truly thank those who support us.”
Photos via Central Park Conservancy.
Many have criticized John Paulson’s $100MM gift to Central Park. This is exactly why large gifts–a portion of which will go to endowment to help with ongoing maintenance–are so needed. We *all* benefit from Central Park: it is our city “commons.”
Well said.
Wow, with the mess in areas like SI and the Rockaways and there is all of this concern about getting the park ready for the damn marathon. Where are your priorities? Disgusting!
As a onetime New Yorker (held hostage elsewhere by her family) who remembers Central Park in its threadbare days, I grieve to see this photo. My first thought was, thank goodness for that recent gargantuan gift to the Central Park Conservancy. My second thought was, surely parks all over New York suffered this kind of damage; how will they recover without the public funding and massive infusion of private dollars that Central Park receives?
Re: “Wow, with the mess in areas like SI and the Rockaways and there is all of this concern about getting the park ready for the damn marathon. Where are your priorities? Disgusting!”
Excuse, please, but “DAMN MARATHON”!?! :-0
ALLOWING THE MARATHON TO PROCEED AS SCHEDULED IS THE BEST WAY TO SHOW THE REST OF THE WORLD OUR CITY’S AMAZING RESILIENCE, SPIRIT, AND ABILITY TO BOUNCE BACK FROM DISASTER, OR TO FUNCTION BRAVELY IN THE FACE OF DISASTER!
FLY AIRPLANES INTO OUR ICONIC TWIN TOWERS AND EXPECT US TO GROVEL, WHIMPER, AND PLAY PATHETIC VICTIM THE REST OF OUR DAYS? NO WAY. ONE WORLD TRADE, FOUR WORLD TRADE, SEVEN WORLD TRADE ARE ALL RISING FROM GROUND ZERO, PROVING THAT WE REFUSE TO COWER.
And, for those Wannabe-Marxists out there, the NYC Marathon is NOT for the one-percent nor for any other elite class. IT IS FOR EVERYONE, RICH OR POOR, WHO HAS THE STRENGTH AND STAMINA TO PARTICIPATE. IT IS POPULISM AT ITS BEST.
And the city resources needed to operate the Marathon would not make any difference to the areas devastated by the hurricane. Cops and firemen cannot turn power back on nor rebuild damaged structures nor take insurance claims. So diverting them to the Marathon will not make life any the worse for “SI and the Rockaways”
So stop the self-righteous moralizing and the superior attitude!!!!!!!!!