Fight Yellow Tail Blight at Vannie

You’ve probably heard of Dutch Elm Disease, Root Rot and Canker Stain. All have exacted a heavy toll on the trees that adorn our public parks and open spaces. More dangerous than all of these combined, though, is a phenomena you may not have heard of: Yellow Tail Blight. You won’t find Yellow Tail Blight in any glossary of tree diseases; in fact, it appears to be a rather recent affliction. Recent or not, though, it’s reeking particular havoc on the pride and joy of the northwest Bronx — Van Cortlandt Park.

Yellow Tail Blight is an intermittent condition. It primarily makes its appearance on warm weather holidays: Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.  Its malignancy, however, appears to be increasing in frequency. It’s not uncommon now to witness its grotesque growths — bright yellow strands of plastic tape labelled “CAUTION” that de facto privatize large swaths of the public park — snaking from one majestic tree to another on ordinary summer weekends. Yellow Tail Blight usually starts a few hours after sunrise and is not brought under control until Parks Department custodians make their morning rounds the following day.

Still not clear? What I am referring to is the unfortunate and dangerous trend of park users cordoning off large sections of the park for their personal celebrations, parties and barbecues.  While all of those uses are clearly consistent with that area of the park, and I am thankful the area can serve as the “backyard” for people who may not have the luxury of a residence with private green space, I am dismayed at the need for these users to effectively restrict others from using the park space, sometimes for hours in advance of their own use of it.

Who is responsible?  It’s not just the offending parties themselves. Most, if not all, are probably unaware of the requirement to apply for a special events permit if 20 or more people will be in attendance. Even with a permit, exclusive use of any public parks space is not guaranteed and the Parks Department is very clear that park spaces cannot be cordoned off.