A restaurant is going to have to pay thousands of dollars, and it's all due to a 160-year-old tree. The tree is technically on public land, but they're on the hook.
New York City officials are forcing Tavern on the Green to pay $30,000 to remove a 160-year-old tree. New York officials are trying to prevent a tree fungus from spreading to other elm trees. They found the fungus in the Central Park tree and ordered it to be chopped down. Due to a contract license, the owners of the restaurant are responsible for getting the tree chopped down.
"I personally look after it so for this tree to come down is really devastating," operator David Salama said. "Very sad." Parks Department and the Central Park Conservancy brought the figurative ax down after discovering it had a fungal infection.
"NYC Parks prioritizes preserving existing trees, and tree removal is always our last resort," a department spokesperson said in a statement. "In order to minimize the spread of the disease to the other elm trees across the city, immediate actions will be taken resulting in the removal of the tree."
Restaurant Loses 160-Year-Old Tree
Until they can remove it, officials have deployed a stopgap method. Many are saddened by the news."It's pretty upsetting that we have to cut it down," said the owners' teen son, Leo, told the outlet.
Sadly, officials found the infection too late. Central Park Conservancy arborists have to monitor more than 2,500 elm trees in the park. They have a very limited amount of time to save a tree once it gets infected. In this case, they didn't find it in time to save the 160-year-old tree. On a yearly average, Central Park loses between 15 to 30 elm trees.
"Depending on the size of the tree, it could be within a week that we can no longer save it," said K Satterthwaite said. "If we see something that looks suspicious, we will either climb or use our aerial lift truck to examine it immediately."
"It's a loss," Salama said. The owners plan to plant another tree in its place to honor its memory.
