It looks like the city is saying no to several planters on Union Street in Park Slope. The concrete planters near Seventh Avenue contained small evergreen trees. News was posted over at Brooklynian:
The city in it’s infinite wisdom has revoked the permits we had for the planters along union street. They have given us 30 days to remove the concrete planters. The reason they gave was that there must be no obstructions on city property. Since the sidewalks are owned by the city, we must remove the planters that have been there for over 25 years. So in 30 days, the planters from BHS all the way to Tasti-d-lite and the bench will be removed.
The planters across the street at 92-7th Avenue will also have to be removed, because they were on the same permit. So say goodbye to the planters from Bank of America down to NuNu Gallery. If anyone knows how to stop this, please do so. It’s a shame that there will be no plant life allowed on these corners.
Not everyone is with the trees, however. There is a bit of a discussion about whether the planters were, well, ugly and might be replaced with something nicer. Otherwise, it does seem to be a rather arbitrary decision.