Blossoming Cherry Trees Axed In NYC Climate Change Project

New York City NY

11 April, 2022

4:50 PM

Description

NEW YORK CITY — A stand of cherry trees near the East River blossomed for the last time Monday before falling to unlikely cause: the fight against climate change. City workers chainsawed cherry trees in Corlears Hook Park Monday as part of flood control effort to protect Manhattan from climate change, according to city officials and videos posted to Twitter. The irony that the park's cherry trees were razed to improve climate resilience isn't lost on New Yorkers who protested the project. "Everybody brings up the same thing," said Harriet Hirshorn, a founding member of East River Park Action. "Why are you cutting down trees in the name of climate change? "It's beyond ironic — it seems absolutely contradictory." The downing of the cherry trees is part of the East Side Resiliency Project, a massive, $1.45 billion project that aims to create a coastal bulwark against rising water caused by climate change. About 40 trees were removed from Corlears Hook with 16 slated to be transplanted and 75 new trees — including cherries, magnolias and oaks — to be planted, said Parks department spokesperson Megan Moriarty. "The Corlears Hook Bridge is being reconstructed to accommodate universal access," Moriarty said in an email. "This work requires regrading the area." But Hirshorn noted the cherry trees — which are at least 80 years old — weren't originally on the chopping block, Hirshorn said. "What's particularly upsetting about the cherry trees is this plan continues to jump out of its own boundaries," Hirshorn said. Video from Woman at the Reel on Vimeo shows a city workers feeding branches of a blossoming cherry into a wood chipper. Social media shows a group of New Yorkers showed up to protest at the park, where police said one person was arrested, but could not provide more information. This isn't the first tree fight since officials began the coastal resiliency project in earnest. Protesters in December bemoaned the first round of tree cutting. More than 500 trees have already been "killed," Hirshorn said. A protester holds a placard reading "New York chainsaw massacre" during a Dec. 12 demonstration at East River Park. On Monday, protesters decried another bout of chainsawing — this time targeting blossoming cherry trees. (Karla Cote/SOPA Images/Shutterstock) The project covers a 2.4-mile swath of Lower Manhattan that experts view as particularly at risk of rising water levels driven by climate change. Project leaders aim to reduce flood risk by constructing floodwalls and floodgates throughout the community, including a newly elevated East River Park. When complete, the project will provide flood protection for more than 100,000 New Yorkers, officials estimate. Not only that, they argue the project will make sure its waterfront parks remain accessible and resilient in the future. But a vocal group of opponents criticized former Mayor Bill de Blasio and other local public officials for pushing the project forward. Critics called the project an unnecessary "land grab" that will deprive East Side residents of park space and natural areas during its construction. Hirshorn stressed that neighborhood advocates don't oppose resiliency projects in general. Most of them lived with Superstorm Sandy and know Lower Manhattan is vulnerable to climate change, she noted. Said Hirshorn, "Our position has always been that we want a better plan."