A landmark-worthy tree grows in . . . Queens?
Grassroots preservationists aim to petition the city to add a Woodside hardwood that dates to the Revolutionary War to a list of landmarks that includes the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.
“It’s part of our history; it’s part of the history of Woodside,” said Louise Rosasco, who lives across from the tree — a copper beech — and has been leading the charge to have it landmarked.
Rosasco, 69, grew up on the block and used to swing from the tree’s branches as a girl, marveling at its hefty trunk and how its leaves would change from gold to burgundy.
It also offers other perks.
“It could be 100 degrees outside and you sit under that tree and you’d think there was an air conditioner on,” she said.
Activists say the tree is about 230 years old and was once part of a farm that stood at 63rd Street off Woodside Avenue.
“It came over when the first settlers came here to America as a seedling,” Rosasco said.
In the next few months, Queens Community Board 2 will be submitting a formal application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
“The designation is an added protection. One day there could be a new property owner who wants to cut it down,” said chairman Joseph Conley.
And the tree could live to “see” it — copper beech trees can live for up to 400 years, according to Jessica Arcate Schuler, the director of the Thain Family Forest in The Bronx. In Europe, the trees were planted in English gardens and on big landscapes in front of estates.
The board tried to have the tree landmarked about 10 years ago but didn’t have enough historical evidence to warrant the designation, Conley said. This time around, it’s working with a researcher at the Queens Historical Society to marshal enough evidence to sway the city.
As a landmark, a developer would be forbidden to alter or remove the tree without special approval.
The commission has previously only designated two trees as landmarks. The first, in 1966, was a Weeping Beech in Flushing that was imported from Belgium and planted in 1847. It died in the 1990s. The second, a Magnolia Grandiflora planted in 1885, still stands on Lafayette Avenue in Bed Stuy.
“Both were old, rare, aesthetically outstanding and reflected the character and historic development of the neighborhoods where they were planted,” said commission spokeswoman Elisabeth de Bourbon.
“Our staff considers requests for evaluation of the landmark eligibility of trees in this context.”
Residents don’t think they’re barking up the wrong tree.
“It’s more than just a tree,” said Robert Sanchez, 39. “It’s the memories of living here and of childhood.”