Open Thread Wednesday

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • Justine Swartz

    The 9 trophy trees that line the perimeter of Cadman Plaza Library @ 250 Cadman Plaza West and 1 Clinton St. are being cut down, and put into a wood chipper. Yesterday Hudson Company has destroyed two magnificent decades old trees.I sincerely doubt they have obtained a permit for this destruction, since the deal to sell our precious library was never finalized and is in court on appeal. The tree killers Hudson Company should stop this vandalizing of Public Property.

  • Justine Swartz
  • Reggie

    From your photographs, they look like honey locusts, which species is a far cry from a “trophy tree.” (A rare dogwood or a 100-foot tall purple beech is a trophy tree.) Bartlett is a well-regarded national firm; I am sure it would get whatever permits it needs.

  • Andrew Porter

    Because of possible infestation (Asian long-horned beetles, etc.), when trees are cut down in Brooklyn they are put into the shredder.

    I really pity the people who live on the north end of Clinton, who will be inflected with demolition and then construction noise for a long time. At the end, they will permanently lose a lot of sunlight.

  • Andrew Porter

    Does anyone have any use for sheets of Letraset transfer lettering, or Letraset rules? I’ve got a big batch of both, from my publishing days. I know they’re obsolete now, but people use them in crafts, and model makers use them. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1436a3369843bdab26f0486a12034d02f4a8a36c704d8dcdabdef2410c109695.jpg

  • Jorale-man

    Regardless of the validity of this project, it will make this section of Clinton a lot less nice to experience (compounded, of course, by the looming skyscraper that’s set to go up within a couple years).

    A similar thing happened on Henry between Joralemon and Remsen. All of the shady trees were chopped down and it’s been very bare as a result.

  • W.R.

    Yes losing trees is a real shame. We lost one on Willow Place recently. It could also be trucks hitting the trees, leading to rot and vulnerability. I’ve been thinking about getting an arborist to help plug with foam a few holes caused by trucks rubbing against the bark

  • Roberto

    Regarding the recent concern about small-minded acts of arboricide in our neighborhood, I recommend Trees NY as a great source of information on tree care. For more long-lasting fortification in this area, get a copy of German forester Peter Wohlleben’s “The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate.”

  • Kit

    Perhaps one of the local schools might like them?

  • Justine Swartz

    Two Honey Locust Trees. You have a good eye.

  • Reggie

    Gleditsia triacanthos!

  • DIBS

    Most trees everywhere are immediately chipped. It’s the msot efficient process and a lot of it is sold as mulch. I’ve experienced this in PA and MA. The only thing that isn’t chopped/chipped/shredded is wood suitable for firewood.

  • DIBS

    I had a catalpa removed from my yard in Bed Stuy and heartily recommend Family Tree Service.

  • gatornyc

    Any one just hear what sounded like an explosion near the BQE by OBBP? Northbound traffic on the BQE is completely stopped with drivers out of their cars.

  • bklyn20

    The manhole covers are erupting again near lower Joraleman…

  • Banet

    Heard it up by Grace Church.

  • richardthepundit

    I am a designer in the neighborhood and would love to use these. How can I contact you?

  • William

    Yes, I think we’ve lost 8 trees on this one block of Henry St. in the last year. I live on the south side of that block and there isn’t a single tree. I wrote to the NY parks tree dept. and they’ve made a note that all these trees are gone – hoping they will be replanted soon as it does look quite desolate. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/49427f9058d920f615acee137781401db6fe504c823849f18958d8f876e240ec.jpg

  • TeddyNYC

    Well, now I know what to thank for the 9/11 flashback.

  • MaryT

    Guess what? Trump has barred the ‘fake news’ NYT and CNN from White House conferences! So much for Freedom of the Press.

    I think if everyone subscribes to the Times, at least online, we’ve made a statement. It’s about $10 per month – a couple of lattes with tip. Students and teachers get discounts. And REMOVE Fox and Breitbart off our devices until this White House wakes up and smells the Constitution!

  • MaryT

    Add to that ‘nasty’ list: LA Times, BuzzFeed, Politico, BBC, and Huffington..

  • MaryT

    .. were BARRED! Outrageous! Un-American!

  • Jorale-man

    I noticed that when the building on the left of your photo repaved their front sidewalks, they included planters for trees. So presumably there’s hope that trees will return to this block eventually. I’d be pretty unhappy if I had a window facing the street and suddenly all the green and shade had disappeared.

  • Non fake news

    This is not a political site. We hear enough of this daily bickering. Go jump in a lake.

  • Eddyde

    It’s an “Open Thread” protected under the First amendment.

  • Roberto

    I completely support your sane point of view. To bar “political” comments here would destroy an essential strength of this blog: a neighborhood voice which recognizes its relationship to what’s going on beyond our boundaries.

  • Andrew Porter

    The Brooklyn Heights Association has a Tree Fund, to which I donate when I renew my membership.

  • Andrew Porter

    Write directly to Moderator Claude Scales and he can forward your e-mail. I’ve had other requests…

  • Roberto

    Trump’s concern about the “lying press” has interesting historical precedents (German: Lügenpresse, lit. ‘lying press.’). Throughout the 19th century in Germany, groups across the political spectrum labelled opponents with the lying tag. Cathoolics, Communists and Nazis utilized the equal opportunity term.

  • Banet

    While I think there’s plenty of room for intelligent political discourse on this blog, nothing here is protected by the first amendment.

    This is a private website. The owners can set whatever rules they want and allow or disallow whatever content or comments they want.

    Just to remind everyone of the exact language of the 1st Amendment:

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”