This London Planetree on East 10th Street near Avenue B has looked in bad shape for years, with that long wound along its trunk. It is no surprise that the arborists decided to take it down. But still it is sad to see it go.

The stump a few days later when they removed the trunk.

I’m not saying that the Con Ed steam pipes killed this tree, but they do make it hard for any new tree planted along the curb to survive their first few years. The block is dotted with sad muddy patches of past failures to thrive. Con Ed cut this hole open the other day for repairs and I got a glimpse of what was beneath the pavement.