Well, it wasn’t pretty.
With 8,000 trees, Green-Wood was quite an attractive target for Hurricane Sandy. And Sandy, with her big winds, was not kind. In all, 150 of Green-Wood’s trees were destroyed. And, just days after the storm, we estimate that well in excess of 100 monuments were damaged–that toll may go higher as trees are removed and more damage is uncovered.
If you would like to make a contribution to our recovery efforts–the removal of uprooted and broken trees and branches, and the restoration of damaged monuments, please click here.
Here are photographs of some of the damage:
This old beech knocked the granite obelisk off its base and then landed on that base.
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This tree, like many others, was uprooted. The Smart Car gives you a sense of the size of this tree.
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This marble monument, about 150 years old, stands just in front of the Beard Bear (seen in the background). The Lloyd Angel lost its head and left arm when it was hit by falling branches. We were able to recover the pieces; it will now be up to our Restoration Team to put this angel back together.
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This tree splintered and knocked the obelisk off its base; somehow, the obelisk managed to remain upright.
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When this monument was struck by a falling tree, it was knocked into pieces.
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This iron fence was crushed by the very large Maple near the Civil War Soldiers' Lot as it uprooted and crashed down. For years the Red-Tailed Hawks had their nest in this tree.
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This tree--much of which had been removed by the time this photograph was taken--came crashing down in front of, and on top of, the Felzmann Tomb.
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A scene of devastation along Cypress Avenue--I counted 7 trees in just over a block's distance that had been uprooted or had had their crowns snapped off. This area is flat land, close to the hills of the terminal moraine--there was tremendous damage along this road, perhaps because the change in typography intensified the winds here.
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And two more:
This old Cherry tree was blown over, landing on a mausoleum.
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This Norway Maple splintered in several directions, knocking down part of the iron fence near Green-Wood's Fort Hamilton Parkway entrance.
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November 2nd, 2012at 7:29 pm(#)
Are you looking for any volunteers to help with post-Sandy cleanup?
November 2nd, 2012at 8:45 pm(#)
The headless Lloyd Angel without an arm looks so sad..I hope you replace her head and arm back as soon as possible..
I somehow realized that obelisks are more prone to tree-damage..
November 2nd, 2012at 10:57 pm(#)
That is very kind of you. But we will leave the cleanup to our grounds crew. It will take a while, but they will get it done. Thanks!
November 3rd, 2012at 10:00 am(#)
Hi! I have a trip planned to visit for my first time on Sat. November 17th. Been looking forward to this visit for months. Is Green-Wood accessible? Thank you.
November 3rd, 2012at 12:39 pm(#)
It is open and roads are cleared. You certainly should have no problems visiting after two more weeks of clean-up. Enjoy your visit!
November 3rd, 2012at 6:40 pm(#)
Sorry to see the damage to Green-Wood. One question, how did the koi pond fair? Hope they all made it through the storm.
November 3rd, 2012at 7:51 pm(#)
Thank you Jeff! I am really looking forward to coming.
November 3rd, 2012at 11:42 pm(#)
I have not heard of any problem with the koi–I think they are fine.
November 5th, 2012at 1:05 pm(#)
Ugh, I’m bummed to see this. Greenwood is one of my favorite places in the world and since I’ve spent so much time there it kind of hurts to see it get damaged, tho the vandal scene inspired anger. I wish I had a pile of cash to donate to a place from which I’ve benefitted so much. Soon soon….
November 5th, 2012at 5:05 pm(#)
This pictures are so sad. I drove 4 hours to go on the tour Saturday night. We arrived 15 min. late and the guard would not allow us to enter.I told him I had seen a group of ppl at the entrance and that we had driven a long way to get there. But, He would not allow us in. At least the $40 we spent for tickets is going towards clean up.
November 5th, 2012at 6:09 pm(#)
I am very sorry you missed the tour. We have done these Moonlight tours for several years now. However, this was the first time we started the tour when it already was dark–it was the only way we could schedule this tour, given my schedule for this fall, with anything close to a full moon. My concern was that, once we started the tour and it had been going on for some time, late arrivals would not have been able to find us–to catch up to us–in the dark. So we locked the gates 10 minutes after the tour began. We will contact you in the hope of making amends.
November 7th, 2012at 4:47 pm(#)
Green-Wood is on my wish list of things to do on next visit to NY. So sorry to see how much damage Sandy did. What happened to the green parrots that nested in the gateway? Are any of them still around?
November 8th, 2012at 10:31 am(#)
Our Monk Parakeets are hardy breed. I really don’t think they had any trouble during Hurricane Sandy.
November 8th, 2012at 4:24 pm(#)
Please let me know how the Alvord Vault fared from Sandy. I will contribute what I can. Sincerely, Alonzo Alwyn Alvord’s g-g grandaughter
November 9th, 2012at 2:50 pm(#)
I was just out there to take a look for you. It is fine!
Thanks for any contribution. Much appreciated.
November 14th, 2012at 3:02 pm(#)
Hi! Although I live in NJ, it was my cousin across “the pond” who alerted me to the cemetery’s faring in the storm. Can you check on Attleseys graves and let me know if cleanup rehab is needed?
Thank you! Where do we send/address donations?
November 19th, 2012at 3:14 pm(#)
This is very upsetting. I have not had the priviledge to visit Green-Wood. I worried about what damage Sandy could do when it was first said that she was headed that way. I have ancesters buried in Green-Wood and was wondering how can we find out if there was damage to their graves?
Thank you!
November 19th, 2012at 6:32 pm(#)
Please call the cemetery office at 718 768-7300 to get information about your family lot.
November 26th, 2012at 3:01 pm(#)
Please call the Green-Wood administrative office at 718 768-7300 to check on whether there was any damage in your family’s lot. And thank you very much for your interest in making a donation; here’s the link to do so online: http://store.green-wood.com/collections/donate/products/in-the-wake-of-hurricane-sandy