“We accept,” Mayor Jerry Larsen told Rachel Cooper, executive director of the Ladies Village Improvement Society, on Sept. 18 when she detailed an L.V.I.S. proposal that would see the planting of more than 30 new trees in Herrick Park.
The trees, which would beautify the area running parallel to Muchmore Lane and the entrance to the park from the long-term parking lot, are part of a larger plan by the L.V.I.S. to plant 250 trees over the next decade in celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial. Since that announcement, the L.V.I.S., in partnership with Whitmores and East Hampton Village, “have been working together on a plan,” Ms. Cooper said. The project “will be funded by the L.V.I.S. as our gift to the community.”
The plan calls for the planting of cherry trees along the walkway connecting the long-term lot to the Reutershan parking lot. “It’s really an open canvas,” she told the village board during a slide presentation depicting renderings of the area before and five years after the planting of trees. The cherry trees would flank the walkway, creating “this beautiful, welcoming environment,” she said. “Obviously, when the trees are in bloom it’s just so pretty and colorful and inviting as an entry into the park heading toward the ball fields.” Three gingko trees would also be planted along the walkway.
In another rendering, along the walkway parallel to Muchmore Lane and leading toward Newtown Lane, “there’s very little planting that’s going on there right now, so we’re proposing to put numerous specimen trees in that area,” Ms. Cooper said. These would include Japanese maple, hackberry, tulip, black tupelo, willow oak, a Chinese elm, and a dawn redwood. Several years after planting, “not only would this provide wonderful shade and cooling in the summer months, but also provide wonderful variety of texture, color, and seasonal interest throughout the year.”
Last, the L.V.I.S. proposed the removal of privet hedge near Muchmore Lane and its replacement with arborvitae.
“This is such a beloved public space in the heart of the village,” Ms. Cooper said, “so to really make it warmer and more inviting and colorful is something that we think would be very special as you continue to improve the park. There have been so many great things that have been done there already, so this would just be a great complement to all the work the village has been doing” in Herrick Park.
Ideally, the planting of cherry trees would begin this month, she said, with the remaining plantings continuing through October.
“I just think it’s incredible that you’re even offering this,” the mayor said. “But I’m not surprised, because as an organization you do so much for the village.”
“We’ll get started right away,” Ms. Cooper said.
