USATODAY.com reports
In the space of half an hour on the night of Aug. 18, a freak blast of 80-mph wind knocked down more than 500 trees, including some of the park’s oldest and grandest, and battered 1,000 others, causing devastation unknown in the park’s 156-year history.
The planting of new trees will begin in the spring, Blonsk(president of the Central Park Conservancy) says, but it will take two years to replant the damaged areas fully. The replanting is an opportunity to increase plant diversity that will encourage more wildlife, especially birds, and bring more variation to the terrain, Blonsky says.
via After storm, Central Park renewal effort takes root – USATODAY.com.