Central Park “Conservancy Under Fire” After Large Elm Tree Falls, Injuring Two People

At Central Park, a large Elm tree fell on a family of four on Tuesday; a mother and her child were seriously hurt. The City Parks Department pointed to the Central Park Conservancy saying the private organization which runs that park was “responsible” for the tree’s maintenance.  The New York Post pointedly covered the story with the print edition headline: “Conservancy under Fire.” It was later amended online to read: “Central Park workers under fire after horrific tree incidents.” There have been a number of tragic tree falling incidents like this since 2009 at the uptown park.

In another Post article from Wednesday, the paper noted: “The city pays the Central Park Conservancy $2 million a year, plus a cut of vendor profits, to care for all the trees in its eponymous park.”

From the New York Post:

A slew of horrific tree-related incidents have occurred in Central Park, and their victims have blamed parks workers for some of them.

Personal-injury claims brought against the city by those hurt or killed by falling trees have asserted that workers for the Central Park Conservancy, the private group responsible for maintaining the green space, let dangerous trees slip through the cracks.

Google engineer Sasha Blair-Goldensohn — who won an $11.5 million settlement — sued after a falling branch partially severed his spine in 2009, and investigators found that park officials reportedly had identified the offending tree — but never trimmed it.

A parks supervisor thought his workers “got” the tree — but they only “got” his e-mail flagging the tree, according to media reports at the time.

The conservancy did not return repeated requests for comment from The Post on Tuesday, after a massive elm crashed down on a mother and her three young children.

The tree was about 40 yards from where Blair-Goldensohn was hit, according to published reports.

See more pictures and background – and how people nearby helped out !! – at A Walk in the Park Blog.

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1 thought on “Central Park “Conservancy Under Fire” After Large Elm Tree Falls, Injuring Two People”

  1. It’s getting obvious that you use this blog like a hack to both obtusely and directly to criticize park management and the conservancy both fairly and unfairly. But get real, and address some of the real issues (not cat rescues in queens); for example:
    -The woefully in adequate trash receptacles that overflow nightly and feed the park’s growing rat population. Park staffers battle incessantly to keep up with the deluge of garbage.
    -The fact that no trash receptacles exist at the park entrance at the NW corner of the park causing a filthy overflow of trash on the resident side of the street at Macdougal and WSNorth.
    -Skateboarders that are damaging the park benches and monuments and posing risk of injury to seniors, children and pets.
    -How about a highlight and the parks many performers.
    -The growing population of drug users and sellers just feet away from a toddlers park.Why not a photo essay to bring light to the problem.
    -The homeless man recently found dead in the park.
    -Some appreciation for the NYPD officer & PEP officer injured in the line of duty recently in the Park while responding to a crime.
    -Maybe the recent tree trimming programming in the park.
    -Perhaps the amazing job of renovating the park’s gardens and lawns.
    You preach transparency, be sure not to censor this comment.

    Reply

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