About seven years ago, Eugene Fellner hung a stuffed tiger from the cherry tree in the front of his yard in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn. Now, there are over 1,000 stuffed toys hanging from the tree. There are animals of various species and cartoon characters like Spongebob, the Ninja Turtles, and other superheroes.
Fellner is not married and has no children. He gets more and more stuffed animals as people drop them off in his front yard. He takes down the dirty ones from the tree and hangs up the new ones, always keeping count of how many are in the tree, so he can tell the interested passers-by who stop to look.
Most of Fellner’s visitors are families—kids who want to count their favorite characters on the tree and parents who want to take pictures. He welcomes all of them and always comes out to say hello.
Most of the neighbors don’t seem to mind the tree at all. Many have kids or grandkids who enjoy the tree.
It’s unclear whether the tree minds or even notices all the stuffed animals hanging on it. But if it’s been healthy for the last seven years, one can assume that the toys are not a detriment. The tree even survived Hurricane Sandy, which took out many other trees on the same block.
Hopefully it survives for many years to come.
If you want to pay a visit, the tree is located on 70th Street, between Avenues T and N in Bergen Beach.
Cover photo credit: newsok.com