By Gus Saltonstall

A 160-year-old American elm tree at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park is set to be cut down soon, a Tavern on the Green manager and a parks department spokesman said.

Recently, the elm tree in the outdoor area of ​​the Tavern on the Green restaurant near West 66th Street was found to be infected with Dutch elm disease. The fungus associated with the disease can be fatal to elm trees.

According to Bradley Frye, a manager at Tavern on the Green, this elm tree is about 160 years old.

“After careful analysis and inspection, NYC Parks and The Central Park Conservancy have determined that the elm tree at Tavern on the Green in Central Park is infected with Dutch elm disease,” a parks department spokesperson told Rag. “To minimize the spread of the disease, immediate action will be taken, resulting in the tree’s removal.”

The Central Park Conservancy also conducted an inspection of the tree to confirm the park service’s determination that the elm tree on the restaurant property was affected by Dutch elm disease.

The city council, together with the Nature Conservation Authority, has also girdled the tree above the root spur to contain the spread of the disease as a temporary measure. The disease can spread both within the tree itself and through the roots to other trees nearby.

“It’s really sad,” a Tavern on the Green employee told West Side Rag on Monday.

The American elm is widely considered to be the symbol of Central Park. The row of mature elms along the Mall & Literary Walk is one of the park’s most visited attractions. However, the park’s population of around 1,600 American elms is well below its peak because “a century of Dutch elm disease has drastically decimated the population of American elms on the continent, making this beloved native tree a comparatively rare species,” according to a blog post by the Central Park Conservancy from earlier this year.

Park planner Frederick Law Olmsted planted the park’s first American elms in the 1860s, making them the oldest in the world. This also means that the American elm at Tavern on the Green, which is soon to be removed, is among the park’s oldest.

The tree has witnessed first-hand the countless developments that have taken place in Central Park over the past two centuries. Unfortunately, it will not be able to see what happens next.

While good news has not yet been confirmed, Frye told the Rag that a new tree will soon be planted in its place.

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