Crime scene photography provided by OasisNYC.org
Recent graduates of the The Paul Bunyan School for the Horticulturally Challenged set about demonstrating their various pruning techniques on two helpless street trees today. Just a few hours after the DoB rescinded the stop work order on the 406-408 15th Street site, the construction crew went to work, wasting no time clearing out any living thing that stood in their path. Using techniques learned in the Amazon, they slashed through old growth tree limbs making room for the drilling rigs tower.
Who will save the trees?
Surely Park Slope, with its abundance of celebrities will have someone willing to take up the fight and climb these defenseless trees in protest. Actress Daryl Hannah where are you when we really need you! Maggie Gyllenhaal, please!
Besides the limbs that were hacked off, the drilling rig most certainly wrecked havoc on the trees foundation, at least on one side of its root system.
Street trees typically have an unbalanced and restricted root distribution. Therefore, any root removal or damage during construction is often a more significant loss compared to trees growing in more open areas. Root loss not only affects the health of these trees but a more serious effect may be on their condition or stability. A street tree that experiences significant root loss will have a different center of gravity as a result. This shift in balance often results in less stable trees--especially the large, mature ones - and leaves them more vulnerable to toppling during severe weather.
Panic stricken, several small shrubs, and even a few hardy perennials fled the scene seeking sanctuary in the near by vacant 1504 8th Avenue.
Click on the photo below to enrage.
Hacked off limbs piled up like so much cord wood.
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