It has been nearly four months since Sandy and the early November Nor’easter that struck our region. Thousands of trees were uprooted and destroyed and hundreds more were damaged.
There are thousands of trees that survived both storms, but many of these may have been substantially weakened.
It is imperative that the New York City Department of Parks, along with its Division of Forestry, begin massive inspections of all of the trees lining the city’s streets, parks and playgrounds to determine the sturdiness of them. When the trees leaf out in the spring, they will once again be top heavy, giving the wind more surface area to hit. With the spring and summer season approaching, it is very possible that any weakened trees will topple over in high winds and in severe thunderstorms, which would cause damage, injury, and even death.
The city must make this a top priority. The safety of the public in parks, playgrounds and on city streets is of the utmost importance. Inspect all of the trees, remove those that are weakened, and maintain those that are healthy with annual pruning.
John Amato,
Fresh Meadows
