Has the construction at Washington Square taken a damaging toll on the park’s famous Hangmen’s Elm reported to be 330 years old?
From Community Board 2 announcement:
Wednesday, May 30th, CB2’s Parks Committee will be meeting at the LGBT Center, located at 208 West 13th Street, in room 410. The meeting will begin at 6:30pm. The agenda items will include:
1. Public discussion of the recent Parks Department decision, following an inspection, to remove one or more major limbs from the Hangman’s Elm (aka Hangman’s Tree) in Washington Square Park. The Parks Department has been invited to attend the meeting. [This item was added to the agenda last week after we were informed of this decision.]
The Hangmen’s Elm is located in the NorthWest corner of the park. There were concerns before the park redesign construction began that the trees would not (and were not) adequately protected. And we know the young trees lining the fountain have not fared very well…
I did notice over the weekend that the area near that tree was barricaded off. Some large low branches are right over the walkway and are angled downward, but it’s hard to tell if they were always like that or if this is a dangerous situation. Hopefully the brances can be removed (if necessary) without harming the tree. It might look a little lopsided near the bottom for a while.
It’s hard to tell if the current situation Iwhatever it is) was affected by the construction or not. Hopefully not.
Look forward to your report on this issue!
Thanks, Seth, for your observations. I noticed the entrance closed too but it wasn’t until you put it all together from this post that I realized it was due to the tree! It is troubling tho’ especially because many were concerned this might happen. So, we’ll see. Thanks Georgia – yes, more to come!
best,
Cathryn.