It looks like the Christmas season is finally coming to an end on the New Haven Green.
Blame C.J. Zemke.
Zemke, a city tree trimmer, began taking down the Xmas tree on the Green Monday along with a parks department colleague. They started at the top with the star. They then methodically looked for red tape marking each strand of lights, removed that strand, then removed those branches.
The city usually waits until after Three Kings Day to take down the tree, Zemke said. The warm, wet weather left the ground too soft to start after that, he said. This past week’s deep freeze finally left the ground firm enough for them to get to work.
Expect to see them out there through the week until they finish the job, he said.
Hopefully, this tree will be shredded and recycled as mulch and ground cover for muddy dirt paths in city parks. Most importantly, it will smell wonderful!