Of the nearly 10,000 trees New York City lost during Superstorm Sandy and the subsequent Nor’easter, 800 of those were in Central Park – including a 75-year old black locust whose trunk was torn from the ground by strong winds. These older and larger trees are especially important to the environment of the city as larger trees capture more carbon and storm water and filter more particulate matter.
Only a thin layer of soil covers the 450-million-year-old bedrock beneath Manhattan, preventing trees from rooting deeply and causing them to branch out, thereby making them more susceptible to toppling over during a storm.
The city’s Parks & Recreation department began preparations making arrangements with tree crews five days before the storm, aware of the dramatic changes in weather in the past several years that have lead to a string of unprecedented natural disasters and the destruction they brought.
The department sent out investigators within 24 hours of the storm to assess the damage and place work orders.
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