☞ REVIVE: Cherry Tree Dilemma in the Heights

One of the verdant accents to the beautiful landmark blocks of Convent Avenue in Hamilton Heights will no longer make an appearance during the spring season and more than a few neighbors have voiced their concerns.  The controversy over the recent chopping of a flowering cherry tree at a local church yard has had more than one resident send in letters of complaints since it was a point of contention during a Community Board 9 meeting last year.

It all started out with Convent Avenue Baptist Church's plans to have an adjacent garden lot just south of 145th street converted into a modern addition to the landmark building.  Members of the local community had mixed reactions to the new structure's incongruity in relationship to the historic nabe but there were also preservation efforts made for the beloved cherry tree at the front of the plot.  The church narrowly received approval for the new building on the the lot and neighbors assumed the cherished tree would be safe but all went sour when residents noticed that it was chopped down suddenly earlier this month: LINK.  Read more about the new addition to this church lot in our past post: LINK