Woodhaven residents are hoping the city will be able to soon plant a new tree where the neighborhood’s former three-story holiday tree stood at Forest Parkway near Jamaica Avenue. The former tree, which was annually decorated for the holiday season, was felled during Hurricane Sandy. File Photo
After Hurricane Sandy destroyed Woodhaven’s beloved three-story tree that was annually decorated during the holidays, residents were devastated and hoped it would quickly be replaced.
However, in a saga that has included the city replacing the massive tree with a less-than-festive deciduous one this summer and then elating individuals by promising to plant an evergreen tree in November, it appears as though Woodhaven residents may not see a new tree planted any time soon.
“Due to our unusually warm weather, the Blue Atlas cedar selected for this site has not yet gone dormant for the winter,” city Parks Department spokesman Zachary Feder wrote in an email. “Shipping the tree in this condition could kill it. After consulting with the Woodhaven Business Improvement District, which sponsors the tree decoration and lighting, we will be planting the tree after the Christmas holiday.”
Maria Thomson, executive director of the Woodhaven BID, was not available for comment.
While there will be an artificial tree decorated at Forest Parkway near Jamaica Avenue, residents said the news about the real tree is upsetting – particularly after residents had hoped for a return to something resembling life before Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the city.
Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association President Ed Wendell stressed that he believes the Parks Department should plant the tree as soon as possible.
“It’s not that we want the planted tree there to be decorated – this is not going to interfere with the Christmas ceremony, with the beautiful artificial tree that goes up,” Wendell said.
“This tree that was part of Woodhaven for all these years and that came down in Sandy in 2012, we shouldn’t have to wait until 2014 to see it erected,” Wendell continued.
The civic leader went on to say that it would mean a great deal to area residents should the city be able to plant the tree this holiday season.
“This is a tree that belongs to everybody,” he said. “It should be planted before the year’s end. We’re not calling for it to be decorated; we’re not calling for it to be lit. We recognize it could take a few years before it would be strong enough to be decorated. We just think the tree should be put in the ground before the end of 2013.”
Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), who also was not available for comment, had been working with the Parks Department to see if a tree could be planted in Woodhaven in the immediate future.
While speaking on Wendell’s weekly Friday night radio show, Ulrich said that he did not “understand why we can’t plant an evergreen tree there now.”
“We desperately need it,” Ulrich said on the radio program. “We’ve been patient.”
By Anna Gustafson
