Green-Wood Cemetery is committed to community safety. Recently, the cemetery
removed or pruned over eighty trees along its perimeter that were deemed a
potential danger to pedestrians, cars, and cyclists.
More details about this initiative can be found in the press release below.
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THE GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY
PRIORITIZES COMMUNITY SAFETY IN TREE MANAGEMENT
More than 80 trees along Green-Wood’s perimeter deemed
to be a potential danger to pedestrians, cars & cyclists
have been removed or pruned
(BROOKLYN
NY) In a massive three-month effort to protect the community from
potential danger, a team of arborists from The Green-Wood Cemetery
removed or pruned more than 80 trees from around
its 4.5-mile perimeter that had been deemed hazardous to pedestrians,
cyclists and motorists.
The
trees, many of which were Norway maples – an invasive and particularly
aggressive species – grew along Green-Wood’s fence line.
Joseph
Charap, Director of Horticulture and Curator at Green-Wood, said,
“Norway maples have very shallow roots, which outcompete other
vegetation and damage pavement. They also have a very
tight root mass which weakens the tree as it ages. Doing preventive
maintenance like this is not only good for the trees, it’s good for our
neighbors.”
Plans
are underway now to replace the removed Norway maples with native
trees. The new trees will be planted at a greater distance from the
fence.
The
grounds of The Green-Wood Cemetery include more than 7,000 individually
inventoried shade and ornamental trees. They represent 400 species,
cultivars, and hybrids, over 40 taxonomic families
and more than 89 genera.
Green-Wood’s trees range from seedlings
planted within the past few months to grand old specimens that have
graced its landscape for well over 100 years. They represent some of the
oldest and largest of their kind (including one national-
and two state champions) in the New York City area.
Richard
J. Moylan, president of The Green-Wood Cemetery, added, “Visitors to
Green-Wood have enjoyed our magnificent trees since 1838, and we are
committed to carefully managing our tree collection
so they can be enjoyed by many generations to come.”
Moylan
also thanked the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation’s Urban and Community Forestry Project for its endorsement
and grant support of this perimeter tree management
program.
About Green-Wood:
Incorporated
in 1838, The Green-Wood Cemetery stretches across 478 pastoral acres in
Brooklyn and boasts extraordinary works of nineteenth- and
twentieth-century sculpture, statuary and architecture.
Home to thousands of historic figures, The Green-Wood Cemetery offers
tours of its grounds, concerts, book readings and other public events
throughout the year.
Green-Wood has been designated a National Historic
Landmark by the United States Department of
the Interior.
The Green-Wood Historic Fund is a registered
501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization created to maintain
Green-Wood’s monuments and buildings of historical, cultural, and
architectural significance; to advance public knowledge
and appreciation; and to preserve the natural habitat of one of New
York City’s first green spaces.
For more information, please visit www.green-wood.com.
