From The New York Times
June 11, 2000, Sunday
THE CITY WEEKLY DESK
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: WEST VILLAGE;
Mourning a Fatally Girdled Tree as It Twists in the Wind
By DENNY LEE
In mid-April, a 20-year-old pear tree at Ninth Avenue and Gansevoort Street was stripped of its bark, leaving a three-foot-wide ring completely bare.
The girdling drained the upper branches of water and nourishment just as the 30-foot-tall deciduous tree was shedding its spring blossoms. The fatal
incident occurred shortly before Earth Day, when saplings are traditionally planted.
''It is the equivalent of a man being garroted or killed by slow strangulation,'' said Henry J. Stern, the parks commissioner. ''Girdling is the cruelest form
of arborcide.''
The victim was discovered the following morning by horrified neighbors. ''What kind of crazy person would kill this huge, beautiful tree?'' asked
Susannah Kaufman, an executive producer at Hudson River Pictures, which is in a three-story town house behind the tree. ''It's the only tree left in
Gansevoort Court.''
Ms. Kaufman was among a group of neighbors who adopted the tree as their own, supplying it with water and fertilizer.
As word of the incident spread, flowers and get-well cards began accumulating at the tree's base. The Parks Department sent forestry experts to the site
three times, but they concluded that little could be done.
In a last-ditch effort, residents dressed the injury with paper bark, but the leaves continued to shrivel in the sunlight.
The perpetrator remains at large. Residents hung wanted posters last month, but no leads have emerged. A single card remains tied to the tree that reads,
''Who Killed Me?''
Mr. Stern announced a $1,000 reward last week for tips leading to the conviction of the person he called ''the Gansevoort Girdler.'' Under a law Mr.
Stern championed, arborcide is punishable by up to $15,000 and jail time. Anyone with information is asked to call 800-201-PARK.
The stricken tree poses no danger of falling. The Parks Department plans to remove it in the fall.
Some good may emerge from the loss. Neighbors are considering a music festival later this year to raise money for a replacement, and the incident has
led the city to consider planting more trees in the barren district.
''In the meantime, we are very anxious to find the perpetrator,'' Mr. Stern said. ''By his cruelty and wantonness, he has deprived neighbors of shelter,
comfort and beauty.'' DENNY LEE
Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
