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$15K worth of planted trees vandalized at Kissena Park for makeshift dirt bike tracks

By and Edited by Adeja Shivonne
Updated  April 16, 2024 8:18am EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 5 NY

Vandals tear out hundreds of trees in Queens Park

Hundreds of young trees at Kissena Park in Flushing are gone. FOX 5 NY's Kendall Green has the latest on the search for whoever is responsible.

QUEENS - It’s the time of year when the beauty of Kissena Park comes alive again and from across the street, Vicky and her neighbors freely take it all in.

"I love the park. The minute it hits 62° here everybody’s here. My son comes out, plays basketball. Everybody’s playing handball. It’s just fun, exciting," she shared.

But just beyond where the people play, $15,000 worth of money was plucked away as the Parks Department reported vandals removed 300 newly planted trees and cut portions of others, vandalizing 5,000 square feet of the park to create what appears to be a well-planned track for dirt bikes or ATV’s.

"First of all, I’m shocked and sad," said Carolina Rodriguez.

She spends quality time there with her dog named Helper every day.

"Thats really sad and you see so many people, and you’re like who’s doing that," she questioned.

Knitted, I heart New York sign with bandaid, Kissena Park, Queens, New York. (Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Councilmember Sandra Ung tells FOX 5 NY the vandalized area is where, for the past two years, volunteers planted and cared for about 2,000 trees as part of a reforestation effort.

"Recently there’s been a lot of kids coming with their e-bikes, and they brought their shovels a couple of weeks ago, a couple of times on the weekends, and I saw them with their shovels and I thought it was like," Rodriguez shared.

Carolina thought they were legit, but if they’re caught and convicted, they could become felons.

"I’m not going go there to ask, ‘hey, have you got a permit?’ But you see a bunch of people with shovels and stuff and then boom you see the dirt bike," she added.

NYC’s Parks Department sent FOX 5 NY a statement about the vandalism, in part saying, "We are working with the NYPD on their investigation, but we ask for the public’s help as well. If you witness any illegal activity in our parks, please alert Parks Enforcement Patrol or the NYPD."