160-year-old tree to be chopped down from Central Park's Tavern on the Green

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — The 160-year-old tree that envelopes part of Central Park’s iconic restaurant Tavern on the Green in shade will be cut down after park officials determined it has Dutch Elm disease.

The Central Park Conservancy and NYC Parks performed inspections on the tree that confirmed the presence of the fungal disease, which is fast-spreading and fatal to elm trees.

“NYC Parks prioritizes preserving existing trees, and tree removal is always our last resort,” the agency said in a statement. “In order to minimize the spread of the disease to the other elm trees across the city, immediate actions will be taken resulting in the removal of the tree.”

Co-owner of Tavern on the Green David Salama told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880 that the tree, which he said was first planted in either 1858 or 1860, is an anchor to the restaurant.

“To see it going, it's like taking an arm out of the property practically,” Salama said.

The elm tree was already planted when Tavern on the Green was built as a sheep fold in the 1880s to house the flock that grazed in Sheep Meadow, and it had been in place for over 70 years by the time the building was converted into a restaurant by Robert Moses in 1934 during his park renovation.

Employees told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880 that they are sad to see the massive tree, which serves as a staple on hot days, go.

“It defines a whole entire section of the restaurant. So, it creates a microclimate just because of the size of it that's just, you know, incomparable,” Salama said.

Park officials said they have girdled the tree above the root flare in order to temporarily reduce spread of the disease until it can be removed.

In place of the elm tree after it is chopped down, there are plans to plant something new.