Bah, humbug!
A donated yuletide tree meant to lift the spirits of people in the Sandy-damaged Rockaways was supposed to be sent to a plaza-like space near the corner of Shore Parkway and Beach 94th Street in Rockaway Beach.
Instead, city officials ordered it set up in an unsafe spot that would require visitors to navigate broken traffic signals, darkened streetlights and the busy Shore Parkway.
Brett Scudder, the local activist who persuaded a Long Island nursery to donate the 25-foot-tall tree, cleared his Christmas effort with the city Parks Department and, after discussing logistics with the department, had a spot picked out: a small, circular area on the north side of Shore Parkway near Beach 94th Street.
But when workers from Whitmore delivered the tree Friday morning, they said an NYPD captain and the Parks Department had directed them to instead put it up on the opposite side of the busy four-lane road, in a sand-clogged spot where the heavily damaged boardwalk used to be.
“The area it’s in now is not cleaned up. It’s a safety issue,” Scudder said. “The spot that I chose was very convenient for the community.”
A Parks Department spokeswoman would only say the city is working with police and the community to find “the best location” for the tree.
The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment.
Scudder hopes his “Rockaways Hope” is moved before a scheduled Wednesday tree lighting ceremony.
Monika Luchowska, 14, checked out the tree yesterday with her mom Jeanie.
“It doesn’t seem very safe. Maybe it should be over there,” she said, pointing across the street. “It is nice to see something there, when the other thing is gone,” said Belle Harbor resident Kim McEntee, 40.
Rockaway Beach resident Angela Ferrara, 21, was at a heating tent with her one-year-old niece when they spotted the tree.
Ferrara walked over for a look, with the toddler in her arms. “I had to carry her here. She can’t walk in all this sand. It’s in a random spot,” she said.
“But overall, it’s nice. At least we have something to bring in the holidays.”
Another Rockaway Beach woman praised the tree as well.
“We’ll have our own Rockefeller Center,” said Susan Manzo, 55.
The tree now stands in a spot that used to be home to a ceramic whale sculpture that was created by the Artists Alliance. The sculpture was destroyed by Sandy.