Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe
A year after the fateful storm that destroyed more than 500 trees in Central Park, Adrian Benepe, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, is describing the destruction as an opportunity in disguise. In the storm-affected portions of the park, particularly on the West Side near 100th Street, officials are now looking to alter and redesign the original layout, according to the New York Times. “The storm wasn’t all bad, because it created some opportunities,” Benepe said. “The storm was like a giant chain saw coming through here creating a circumstance where you could look at it for the first time and say: ‘Well, do we want to have a woodland here? Or do we want to have a meadow?'” So far, roughly 350 replacement trees are slated for the park, costing anywhere from $175 to $300 a piece, officials say. [NYT]