We couldn’t know how badly RIOC’s crew damaged our historic row of cherry trees on the West promenade until blossoms lifted them out of winter. After men with chainsaws hacked brainlessly away at them in late October, we could not get their full contribution to the ongoing de-greening of Roosevelt Island.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
How badly did the RIOC crew hurt the historic cherry trees?
Rushed out to the West Promenade, we found a RIOC crew busy at work, chainsaws buzzing.
“What are you guys doing?”
“Pruning the trees,” a crew member answered.
Fruit tree pruning is done correctly in spring or very late winter. This prevents damage to trees sleeping through winter, less able to defend themselves. And it’s done only for shaping them.
“Why?”
“To keep them from dying.”
But none of the trees were dying. Yet. And the crew was not doing the sealing of cut-off branches needed to protect them from bacteria, fungi or insects.
Fortunately, with aid of a resident, we stopped the destruction at that point, but the results were months away. Not until the cherry trees bloomed in spring could we see the full damage.
Battered and clinging to life
Here’s a close-up:
Cherry trees, Southpoint and RIOC’s De-Greening of Roosevelt Island
The hacking of the cherry trees came close on the heels of RIOC’s destruction of dozens of trees, wild grasses and small animals in Southpoint Park. Part of their explanation for converting Southpoint’s verdant shorelines into the Shelton J. Haynes/Langan Rock Farm was removing non-native species.
FYI: Cherry trees are all non-native species.
Is it the lack of supervision so often observed at RIOC or a managed effort at de-greening Roosevelt Island? With the state agency so deeply bunkered and under Governor Hochul’s protection, it is hard to know for sure. But the potential for future damage is huge.
more from the Roosevelt island daily news
- Queens Public Library Ransomware Attack: Digital Services Still DisruptedThe Queens Public Library ransomware attack continues to disrupt public computers, digital books and online services, with no confirmed restoration date.
- A new RIOC appeals officer denied records on how its general counsel was hiredA different RIOC appeals officer denied records on how RIOC hired general counsel Lance Polivy. RIOC’s internal deliberations on the hire stay withheld.
- Monday’s PSD blotter: two hospital transports, two disputesRIOC’s Nov. 9 PSD blotter lists 14 incidents, including four aided calls with two hospital transports and a verbal dispute at 750 Main Street that drew FDNY.
- Flushing Spa Murder: Man Charged After Woman Found Stabbed to DeathFlushing spa murder investigation leads to a murder charge against a 54-year-old man after a woman was found fatally stabbed in a Queens storefront.
- Sunday’s blotter: four medical calls, three non-criminal investigationsRIOC’s Nov. 8 PSD blotter lists 19 incidents, including four aided calls (two hospital transports) and three Investigation Non-Criminal entries at 465, 580 and 546 Main Street.
Still Searching: Transparency Delayed at RIOC
New York’s Freedom of Information Law rests on a basic principle: government records belong to the public unless an agency can identify a lawful reason to withhold them. For Roosevelt Island residents, that right matters because RIOC controls public land, infrastructure, transportation, contracts and development without functioning as a locally elected government.
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