As angry New Yorkers and aggrieved politicians sought to determine responsibility for the fallen tree limb that killed a 6-month-old girl in Central Park over the weekend, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Monday that the accident was most likely “an act of God” and cautioned the public not to rush to judgment.
“It’s very tragic, and trying to assign blame isn’t really something that we should be focusing on,” the mayor said.
“Only if you cut down every single tree in the city down to ground level can you guarantee that nothing’s going to fall,” he added. “Unfortunately, nature works that way.”
It was the third time in less than a year that a falling branch killed or badly injured a passer-by in the park. City officials said Monday that the tree was under the Wildlife Conservation Society’s jurisdiction and had been pruned twice since December.
The girl, Gianna Riccuitti, and her mother, Karla DelGallo, 33, were posing for a photo near the entrance to the Central Park Zoo on Saturday when the branch fell 30 feet and struck them. Ms. DelGallo remains in stable condition.
The city’s response to the accident revealed the confusion that can arise from a system of outsourcing maintenance of parks to private organizations. In the aftermath of the episode, city officials could not initially identify which group was responsible for the tree, and they could not say when it had last been tended to.
The Central Park Conservancy, a private nonprofit group, has maintained a majority of the park’s 24,000 trees since 1998.
But the tree in question had its roots inside the Central Park Zoo, even though the branch that fell extended outside the zoo grounds. Since 1980, the Wildlife Conservation Society, a large nonprofit that oversees five zoos and parks in the city, including the Central Park Zoo, has maintained the zoo grounds, including the trees. The society declined to provide information on its inspection practices or comment on the investigation.
(Source: NY Times)
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13 Responses
I didn’t know Bloomberg was a religious person. I guess he pulls it out of his hat when it gets him off the hook.
When will people finally admit that everything is an “Act of God”? Will they ever learn?
So the Mayor actually believes in G-d!
Sadly, he (like so many others) will only go so far as to believe in a G-d of terrible accidents, not of all things. Hopefully, the mayor (and others)will learn to “credit” G-d with beautiful sunrises, budding fruits, cracks of thunder, and even the death of a child.
With the start of the 3 weeks, maybe that is something we should all reflect upon.
Of course as frum people we have to believe all is from Hashem. That is what keeps us going or else we could not Chas V’Shalom live with the tests some of us are challenged with.
Recently we sat shiva in Bnei Brak for a sister of ours who had her suitcase ready to be packed for a trip to U.S.A. to visit with our elderly mother. She suddenly screamed from severe headache pain and within the hour was on her way to the hospital. She suffered from an aneurysm and was niftar.
Our sister was healthy took care of herself and was an example of a bas melech.
We had thousands of people coming to tell us what a Great Women she was. Among the people who came were such as the Belzer Rebbitzen and people who one would say were very modern. Unfortunately, a few hours after our sister’s trauma another neighbor ,diagonally across from her also suffered and aneurysm and she was also niftar. She was also a special woman. Both were quiet and did everything with anivus, humble. Do we have questions? It is hard to go on with life and we do with pain and tears.
So yes this tree story sounds like the one this winter when two chashuva men were too killed on their way home from shul on Motzei Shabbos.
Before we start our day and say Modeh Ani we should reflect on what we have to be thankful for.
Who’s being mikarev him?
mr. wheelchair, don’t get too excited. When he starts keeping kosher, keeping shabbos, and finally breaks up with that goyishe girlfriend of his, then and only then can we say that the Mayor is a ba’al halacha.
“Act of God” is a legal term. This doesn’t have anything to do with religion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_God
The old expression says that there are no atheists in a foxhole.
In THIS case the incoming shell is a major law suit against the city.
Bloomberg said Monday that the accident was most likely “an act of God” and cautioned the public not to rush to judgment.
Sorry Bloomey, IT IS AN ACT OF G-D! EVERYTHING IS AN ACT OF G-D!
“Act of god” is a legal doctine in American law meaning the bad thing that happened was caused by forces beyond the control of any individual, i.e., an accident not caused by anyone’s negligence. It has to do with the law of liability. Since the tree was owned by the city, which had a legal duty to keep it in good order, the city is quite possibly liable.
However “act of god” does not refer to Ha-Shem, or to any other sort of diety. It’s an example of misnamed secular legalese.
some_jew and akuperma, would you rather have had the Mayor call it Yad Hashem?
The “foxhole” of the lawsuit is getting in this atheist’s way.
#11 – maybe the Mayor should have said “oops” or “sorry” or “maybe we do need to pay people to trim the trees since trimming trees costs less than paying wrongful death judgments”