to the Grand Concourse. Honey locust has shed its leaves, Zelkova has gone gold. And the oaks are finally having their moment.
Their moment may be browner than the others but it strikes me as majestic anyway.
Cruising the site, I see something astonishing. New York has sent a team to tidy up the tree pits, from the City Cleanup Corps, through which thousands of residents are working to beautify public spaces, at $15 an hour. Same as McDonald’s and better work, if you ask me.
Thank the god – or more likely, goddess – of tree pits! The work will move all the way from 175 Street to Fordham Road. There will be no more detritus, no glass panes burdening roots.
But will they leave anything behind? Probably. The butts.
Evidence of sidewalk camaraderie. Tree pits as a kind of mini-town square, graced by a beautiful living thing, leaves attached or fallen.
Jean Zimmerman 