This past week, workers cut down multiple blossoming cherry trees in Corlears Hook Park as part of the ongoing $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project.
Today on the Lower East Side. @smdono5 #WeRefuseESCR pic.twitter.com/GNendPTsXp
— a thousand people a thousand trees (@1000treesNYC) April 11, 2022
Several activists, including Rev. Billy, were arrested this past week at the scene while trying to prevent workers from taking down the trees.
The event, which includes a potluck, starts at 5 p.m. today on the NE corner of Third Street and Avenue C.
4 comments:
This whole ERP business leaves me feeling furious and helpless. Thank you to the protestors who are keeping up the good fight. The city doesn't care, the Parks Department doesn't care, our elected officials have sold us out and don't care. I'm so sick of the LES being treated like garbage. To cut down cherry trees in full bloom is just salt in the wound. Is the cruelty the point?
It does not make any sense for them to cut down those Cherry trees, they were on the west side across the FDR drive away from the East River on an elevated section of the park. It is the East River Park alongside the East River that they are elevating to supposedly protect the LES against future storm flooding so why would they cut down trees on the other side? Terrible!!!
ESCR has a few presentations about Corlears Hook Park work on their site and the reasoning behind the trees being cut down (despite failing to flag that area in their main maps detailing closed park sections). Apparently due to the flagpole area needing to be reoriented/regraded so the new bridge is ADA compliant.
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/escr/downloads/pdf/2020-01-14-Friends-of-Corlears-Hook-Park-Design.pdf
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/escr/downloads/pdf/20220210-escr-cb3parks.pdf
This still makes no sense. The trees were off to the side. The flagpole could easily be removed without destroying the trees.
And it's really upsetting to see the Parks Dept posting on social media about all the lovely cherry trees while they destroyed this grove. And they choose not to respond to anyone who comments or asks about it.
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