Alleged arborcidal maniac David Sasson, who was arrested in February for destroying $24,000 worth of plants in Union Square with his bare hands, had the results of a psychological evaluation presented in court on Monday, the Villager reports. "Sasson was found unfit to assist in his own defense, and Judge Ellen Gesmer remanded him to the state-run Kirby Psychiatric Center for further evaluation and treatment." more ›

Today the Times catches up with one of our favorite recent stories. more ›

Thank you, thank you, thank you, New York Post, for reporting the memorable words of the Union Square Tree Mangler. They go a long way to explaining David Sasson's motivation for doing $25,000 worth of damage to the trees and shrubbery in the park. The only this we enjoyed more than the quote was the various monikers the editors came up with for the herbicidal maniac: more ›

Whoa, who knew that people would take their anger out on poor plants and trees in the park? The Post reports that David Sasson was arrested for "committing horticultural homicide" at Union Square Park. Sasson, who lives on East 14th Street, has apparently been damaging hydrangea bushes, dogwood trees, holly bushes, roses, butterfly bushes, a magnolia and other flora over the past three weeks. Two Parks Enforcement officers caught him at 1:30AM, and the Parks Department said Sasson "was in the process of ripping branches off trees," adding that Sasson just "reached up into the tree branches and pulled off the limbs." And the "destruction or abuse for trees" is serious - that, coupled with his second-degree criminal mischief charges, could add up to seven years in jail. more ›