(FYI)nformation - Spring Trimming: a Massacre

Before the Chainsaw; 8th and West Hamilton

A walk around any of the 6 Wards in JC will sure to be filled with budding trees and blooming tulips. On a recent cycle through Liberty State Park I saw beds of various colored flowers in perfect rows and the fenced off area growing like an untouched wilderness. Spring has certainly taken a lot longer to arrive this year but after this past weekend I think it's safe to say it has sprung. Highs in mid 70s (23Cº) arrived just in time for the holiday. The return of spring means the return of many JC staples such as Groove on Grove, Dancing Tony's Sports Tournaments, Bike JC Group Rides and Earth Day in LSP. It's also a scary time to be a tree. Every spring, just when the local trees have begun to bud and add some much needed color, the JC Department of Public Works arrives with chainsaws and what one can only believe to be men with wonky eyes and a vengeance. (If on main page, click read more just below.)

Late last week they went on the attack; their target was my favorite Weeping Willow that stands on the corner of 8th and West Hamilton. Still in shock over the loss of my previous favorite tree, I was horrified to witness the amputation of almost all its limbs. Left with only 2 gangly appendages, this Weeping Willow has much to cry about. This act of uninhibited cutting is done so our cables aren't taken down by the growing trees. I do not debate the need for this, what I question is the force in which it is carried out and the lack of respect for the trees themselves. Last year this same process was done to a group of trees along Coles street. The block was left with nothing but torsos to line its rows of brownstones. Not such a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Many have complained about the way in which these "trimmings" are carried out. Repeated phone calls and questions routinely go unanswered.

After the Chainsaw; 8th and West Hamilton

Once there was a giving tree who loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come to play
Swinging from the branches, sleeping in the shade
Laughing all the summer's hours away.
And so they love,
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.