The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced on Tuesday that a $30,000 from Chase Freedom will be used to replace the seventeen elm trees that were vandalized in the Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse last July.
A total of 44 trees and some rose bushes were destroyed in the park last summer. At the time, Elton Pon, a parks department spokesman told the Chronicle, “We don’t know if it is someone with a political agenda, or a mental problem or something else. It does seem like someone knows what they’re doing.”
The department even offered a $2,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the tree vandal, but nothing ever came of it. At one point, police were staking out potential targets 24 hours a day with undercover and uniformed cops patrolling more than 40 hot spots in the park.
Today at 11:30am, representatives from Chase Freedom, the San Francisco Parks Trust, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and city officials including Supervisor Eric Mar, will be in the Music Concouse for a tree planting ceremony (also open to the public).
Glad these trees are getting replaced – thanks Chase! But the cost of $1764.70 per tree seems outrageous, no? Does that price include Lloyds of London insurance?
Sarah B.
Happy to see this. Yes, $1,000+ is quite a bit… Not sure what all is bundled into figure. Odd. These will be larger trees though, not the typical 5gal version. So, those trees are more expensive for sure. There are expenses to pull the old trees leftovers, etc.
This Curbed article states that the destroyed elms were $500 each:
http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2010/08/16/golden_gate_park_given_40_trees.php
If that is still the case, we’re looking at a cost of $1,200 to plant each tree. I’m clearly in the wrong business! 🙂
Sarah B.
I would not be surprised if that cost included labor and supplies.