By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — Six trees at Stuyvesant Cove Park, a 1.9-acre jewel of native flora along the East River from 18th to 23rd streets, have met a mysterious end.
Three trees — a Sweetbay magnolia, a cottonwood and an Eastern redbud — died, while three others — two cottonwoods and an Eastern red cedar — blew over, according to the park's manager, Daisy Hoyt.
"It's a little strange," said Hoyt, who manages the space for the park's owners, environmental education organization Solar One. "The three trees that fell over don't seem to be in a location any different than the others. Apparently their root system was not strong enough."
Hoyt said she had no explanation for what killed the other three, but said it could have been the work of vandals.
"To be honest, I wouldn't rule it out of the question. People will mess with anything," Hoyt said. "We've had people break limbs and strip bark. It's a public park in New York City and all sorts of people do all sorts of mischief."
But, she added, "I'm going to assume it was natural."
Stuyvesant Cove Park was built in 2002 after park supporters defeated the controversial Riverwalk development, a revitalization plan that was touted as a collection of five high-rise residential towers, a hotel and office building on top of a platform overlooking the East River.
The location on the far east side along the F.D.R. from 18th to 23rd Streets have helped make the park the "best kept secret," according to Joy Garland, a longtime area resident who was part of the community fight to defeat Riverwalk.
After removing the trees and turning them into mulch, the 10-year-old park will be supplanting its loss with one tree from the nearby Stuyvesant Town, which was already planning to remove it from its 80-acre complex, Hoyt said.
Hoyt only wants one new tree because the park had been overplanted — but apparently that had little impact on the fallen trees.
Stuyvesant Town is in the process of removing "swaths" of trees that Tishman Speyer had planted after its $5.4 billion investment failed, the Wall Street Journal reported. Residents of the 11,200-apartment complex sparked the tree removal by complaining to the new management company that the trees blocked their views and were a safety risk, the Journal wrote.
Garland was very upset when she found out about the downed trees.
"A lot of those trees were planted when the park first began," she said. "I love those trees...This year, the United Nations declared it International Year of Forests. They play a vital role in capturing carbon. They hold the soil together and help cool the air."
Garland was particularly attached to the Eastern red cedar, which attracts mockingbirds all winter long. "They eat the cones and have the shelter of the needles."
Because Stuyvesant Cove Park only plants native flora, it had only one option among Stuy Town's four types of trees: an American beech, Hoyt explained.
