By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Days after ripping a rogue farm out of High Bridge Park, the Parks Department said the destruction was a matter of principle, not protection.
Although Parks officials had earlier said they removed the farm out of concern the soil might be contaminated, the borough's top Parks official recanted when pressed to release information about contamination tests.
"We're not really concerned about contamination so much," said Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner William Castro.
"The primary reason is that you can't just go into a public park and dig up a significant area, or any area, it's just not right," he said about the decision to yank the plants.