Aug. 22, 2011 By Christian Murray
An iconic Woodside tree was butchered by vandals recently.
The tree, a green spruce tree that was planted in the fall of 2010 at Sohncke Square, was significant since its role was to be the neighborhood Christmas tree.
The Green Spruce tree was discovered on July 28 or 29th with its branches hacked off. “It looked like it had been cut to the bone,” one local resident said. “Shortly afterward it dried up and died.”
At the beginning of August, the Parks Department planted a tiny replacement, which is a temporary solution. In the fall, a more significant tree is expected to be planted at the square.
Prior to the incident, “We noticed that it was thriving; it was beautiful,” said Barbara Coleman, the former vice president of the Woodside Civic Association and current member of Community Board 2.
However, in recent years, every tree that has been planted in this square has died.
The square, which was named after a Woodside resident who was killed in WWI, is located at the intersection of Woodside and Roosevelt Aves.
In 2008, a Serbian Spruce Tree was planted in the square before Christmas, but then died in August 2009. A Japanese Yew tree followed in November 2009, only to die by July 2010. Then the parks dept planted the Green Spruce.
Except for the latest round of vandalism, many residents have wondered why all these trees have died. Many have argued that there is little room for the roots of the tree to grow, claiming that there is cement just a few feet below the tree. But this theory was debunked by the Parks Dept. that said there was gravel there, which allows for adequate growth and soil.
Replacement tree at Sohncke Square
Kay Finnigan and Woodside’s Christmas tree 2009
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5 Comments
lets all donate money and have a great big tree with camersas to watch and keep the next tree safe and have a wonderful holiday season a bit early but lets start planning now
It’s a tree only Charlie Brown could love.
Who is in charge of watering it? Does any local person care for it or is it left to Mother Nature?
just to be a little blunt here but did anybody ever think that maybe people are urinating on these trees and after a couple of drinks they start to pull the branches off — stranger things have happened around here lately that is for sure
If we have been having trouble with trees for years why not put in a spy cam and take pictures of these people killing our tree. It is a shameto have t do it but we hve to protect our town