D’oh, no! ‘Krusty’ comes down at La Plaza
BY SARAH FERGUSON
On Fri., April 5, workers
contracted
by the Parks
Department felled
“Krusty,” the last of
the three towering
willow trees that
had dominated La
Plaza Cultural
for more than 40
years.
The beloved
tree in garden at
E. Ninth St. and
Avenue C was
dubbed Krusty
after Krusty the
Clown on “The
Simpsons,” after it lost
its feathery crown during
a storm a few years
back. It had also become
a bit crusty due to an orange
“hen of the woods” fungus that had
begun infesting its bark.
The fact that it needed to come down
is apparent in a video, which shows
a pair of workers yanking down the
3-foot-wide trunk with a single tug of a
rope tied to its base.
It was an ignoble end for this giant,
which was planted in 1977 by legendary
Green Guerilla gardener Liz Christy
Chopping up Krusty at La Plaza Cultural on April 5.
and members of the Puerto Rican activist
group CHARAS after they took over
what had been a series of barren, rubble
strewn lots.
PHOTO BY SARAH FERGUSON
Over the years, the willows became
an iconic presence in Loisaida, so their
loss has been keenly felt. Reverend Billy
and garden members hosted a wake for
Krusty’s more popular sibling “Cher,”
the largest of the three willows,
which was cut down in 2017.
Like Krusty, Cher was determined
to be a danger
due to signifi cant rot at
its base.
“Wally,” the other
willow, came crashing
down during
Hurricane Irene
in August 2011.
The loss of the
trio of trees marks
the end of an era
for La Plaza. The
city is now installing
a generic steel
fence to replace
the old chain-link
one that had been encrusted
with hundreds
of colorful “fl owers” created
from recycled cans and
detergent bottles.
For 20 years, local artist Rolando
Politi festooned the fence with these
“winter fl owers,” as he dubbed them
because they were most visible during
winter, before the honeysuckle and
trumpet vines enveloped them.
Now those vines, too, are gone, and
the garden will likely be closed to the
public through July as the city installs
the new fence and new sidewalk.
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12 April 18 - May 1, 2019 DEX Schneps Media
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