City of Quincy tree plantings along Washington Street continue to die

— News about Quincy Massachusetts from Quincy Quarry News

Quincy Quarry News recently circled back around to see how the much ballyhooed tree plantings a few years ago along Washington Street from near the rotary near the base of the Four River Bridge to roughly Pond Street’s intersection with Washington Street were faring in the wake of last summer’s brutal drought.

in short, the Quarry found that carnage continues as well as worse more.

A struggling to recover drought-damaged tree failing to flourish
A Quincy Quarry News exclusive image

The first tranche of tree plantings along Washington Street happened in 2019 with much fanfare and additional tree plantings then followed.

Unfortunately, the trees were typically put in much less than wall-prepared holes and as has long been typically done by the City of Quincy going as far back as at least to now long-ongoing Mayor Koch’s also overly long extended tenure dining at the public trough as the City of Quincy’s Park and Recreation Commissioner roughly a couple of decades ago.

Not only did the ill-treated trees not flourish, last summer those planted along Washington Street were subjected to a brutal and extended drought with the City of Quincy then unconscionably late in instituting a woefully inept drought-emergency watering plan.

In turn, the sum of such fueled this latest Quincy Quarry exposé of arboreal abuse committed by the Koch Maladministration.

Trees dying in droves last summer c/o poor care
A Quincy Quarry News file photo image

First up, how bad was the carnage last summer?

Wicked bad.

Quincy Quarry found roughly a third of the young trees along this run of Washington Street dead or down to their last leaves.

Even worse, when Quarry circled back around late last week it found that more than just a few more drought-impacted trees yet did not make it through last winter and what was a dry early spring.

Even more appalling, not only has the City of Quincy so far done nothing of consequence to address replacing the dead trees, there were no signs of removing the dead or providing triage for those trying to hang on to life.

A leading the way photo op with French Cuffs rolled up …
An old Facebook photo

Accordingly, expect an election year tree-panting initiative announced relatively soon by Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch with great fanfare or at least something pimped by his Chief of Staph Pinocchio Walkbacker, albeit one that does not acknowledge the still ongoing tree care fail as well as egregious neglect of young and vulnerable trees by the Koch Maladministration.

So what, however, for the fact that the dead trees were grant funded and thus replacements would likely have to be funded by local taxpayers directly as opposed via their state or federal tax payments circling back around to the Q.

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