Some are calling it the cherry blossom massacre.
Officials chopped down ten cherry blossom trees this weekend while preparing for a construction project at Queens Borough Hall.
Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates reported that a grove of trees were cut down, shedding shredded cherry blossoms in the grass behind Queens Borough Hall.
Julianne Cho, a spokeswoman for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, told Metro that while preparing to add an atrium onto Borough Hall, an assessment of the trees found that 10 were diseased and needed to be removed.
But Croft disputed this, saying, “With the exception of one, all other trees appeared to be healthy.”
After the atrium is constructed, they will plant healthy trees, Cho said.
The $13 million construction project is a glass atrium intended for public events, including indoor and outdoor space for purposes like housing lines of couples applying for city licenses.
But Croft said it is too late to save the scenic backdrop the trees created for couples getting married this spring, who often took photos with the blossoms in the background.
