Last month, you may recall, at least nine beautiful blooming cherry trees were chopped down outside Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens. Blogger Geoffrey Croft was outraged to learn, at first, that the trees were killed to make way for a "staging area," for construction of a new $17 million atrium on the property. But the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) told us, "While preparing for the Queens Borough Hall project, we found that the cherry trees were diseased and needed to be removed." Now, however, Croft has learned that most, if not all, of the trees were healthy. more ›

[Update below] Over the weekend, the city parks blog A Walk In the Park reported that nearly a dozen cherry trees were chopped down outside Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens. The Queens Borough President initially told NY1 the trees were cut down to make room for construction workers building a $21 million dollar project, which will create a glass atrium in the rear courtyard. But when asked about the trees again yesterday, BP Helen Marshall angrily dismissed the earlier explanation out of her office. more ›

Yesterday Queens Borough President Helen Marshall moved forward with a plan for a $20 million glass atrium for the rear courtyard of Queens Borough Hall. Her office says that it will provide space for meetings and community programs and alleviate lines of couples waiting to get married in the building's cramped wedding office. Naturally, some people are not thrilled with this, specifically on the same day that the mayor announced 23,000 possible job cuts in his doomsday budget. Political analyst Doug Muzzio told the Post, "It becomes one of those glass houses that people will throw stones at. Is this the best use of public money in terms of job generation? The answer is undoubtedly no." The paper also points out that the recent renovation of the Manhattan Marriage Bureau that just was unveiled only cost $12.5 million. more ›