Save power, trees

Most New Yorkers don’t notice their absence in Manhattan, or know how it came about. In the Great Blizzard of 1888, all electrified lines in Manhattan were destroyed, bringing the city to a halt. Communication and other electrical lines were severed; broken poles and live high-voltage wires lined the streets. Surface rail tracks that powered local and long-distance trains stranded thousands of passengers.

After the blizzard, the mayor realized the necessity of preventing another disaster, stating that we can’t control the elements, but we can protect our power lines. All overhead wires were put underground. Nowadays, with the increased need for electrical power, we have even more reason to do so.

Consider also the disfiguration of trees to accommodate power lines. Old, beautiful trees have their limbs chopped off. Twenty-year-old skinny trees in my neighborhood look like beanstalks because the “chain saw gang” comes around periodically to hack off their branches.

It’s time for our borough president and mayor to realize the necessity of protecting power sources and put the lines underground.