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
- A Fabulous New Haynes Lawsuit Gets Crain’s Attention AgainFiled last week, the new Shelton Haynes lawsuit required an article here, but that’s where it should have ended. But Crain’s New York got wind of it and couldn’t resist. Missing much of the substance … Read more
- Haynes, Other Execs Cleared in the “Open Letter” InvestigationIn March 2022, a confidential source handed The Daily an envelope containing an “Open Letter” composed by a group calling itself “We Deserve Better New York.” Frustration and anger spilled off its pages, but the … Read more
- What’s the Latest on the Secret AVAC Failures?“The west side of the AVAC line is obstructed impacting garbage collection via vacuum along the duct work servicing building complex at Westview and BLG 531 (Rivercross),” a RIOC Advisory said. It foreshadowed worse to … Read more
- How long has this been going on? The Gaping RIOC Leadership GapA leadership gap at RIOC, with roughly 150 employees, has been evident since mid-summer and has gone unaddressed publicly. That the situation was only marginally better before kept it from seeming the congealed muddle it … Read more
- Final Poll Results: Transit Options Offered During F Train ShutdownIn a one-week flash poll, The Daily asked readers for their opinions on the transit options available during the F Train shutdown. With a major Track Fixation initiative underway, both the MTA and RIOC set … Read more
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