One of the destructive results of Hurricane Sandy was the destruction of trees throughout the city.
It was estimated that nearly 15,000 trees were uprooted or damaged by the hurricane. The continued planting of new trees under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s One Million Trees Program must stop.
What the city Parks Department and its Forestry Division need to be do is conduct inspections of every tree in every city park and playground and along the streets in every borough.
Many trees that are still standing may have been weakened by the hurricane and could fall in future storms and injure or kill somebody. Inspect the trees and those that are found to be weakened must be removed.
Also, there must be regular tree maintenance throughout the city, with pruning done on a regular basis by Parks and its Forestry Division.
How many more people, like Tony Laino, need to die before necessary action is taken? His death could have been prevented had the city removed that tree in front of his residence after all the complaints that had been made to Parks by his family and neighbors.
Plant not one more tree until every tree is inspected.
John Amato
Fresh Meadows
