Prospect Park still rebuilding after tornado

It’s been three months since a tornado swept through the northern region of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, and the park’s management is still working to rebuild the area. According to Anne Wong, the park’s director of landscape management, the recovery effort is far from over. The storm caused close to $150,000 worth of damages, with 40 trees knocked down and another 150 broken, thanks to winds gusting 80 miles per hour. After Gov. David Patterson declared a Federal Emergency Management Agency crisis in the area, the U.S. Forestry Service deployed their “Cherokee Hotshots,” a group of workers who assist in emergency clean-ups to collect the debris. Arborists from Brooklyn Forestry, the borough’s forestry division managed by the Parks Department, are currently working in Prospect Park, the city’s second largest park, to combat the damage. Park officials are also preparing for a seeding plan to replace the fallen trees trees, noting that the future of the recovery depends on securing funds from FEMA, the city and donations. [Park Slope Patch]