Mystery tree slasher on the loose in NYC following attempted arboricide: They just want attention

Someone’s been knotty.A mysterious blade-wielding hacker is on the loose in Queens after slicing up two healthy trees in what city officials have ominously dubbed an “apparent attempted arboricide,” The Post has learned.The two victims stand next to one another on a quiet Ridgewood street — leaving outraged neighbors hungry for justice.“Whoever is doing this just wants attention and they’re a f–king idiot.I would like, if we could, to catch who it is.

I would love to see that,” said Joseph Hernandez, 42, who was “shocked” to discover such carnage could have taken place across from his familial home.The disturbing act was discovered earlier this week during a routine annual inspection of the foliage along St.

Johns Road in Ridgewood — which has a history of anti-tree attacks.The trees — a hulking Pine oak and a much slimmer Japanese pagoda — had each suffered a single deep slash that ran several inches deep.The crude cuts ran about half the circumference of the oak, but ran the entire trunk of the pagoda, which outraged neighbors said was a relatively new addition to the block.“It looks like it was maybe a chainsaw or something,” speculated Hernandez.“It is like a straight slash and it’s deep.

This is deep. It’s not just like you can’t do this with a knife.You’ve got to have heavy machinery to do something like that.

And it’s got to be loud.I don’t think you could do that type of damage with a machete.”“This is what provides us with the way of living, it’s stuff we exchange oxygen with.

You know, so it’s like, why?” seethed Hernandez, a middle school math teacher and dad of two.His wife, Jennifer Castro, was equally disheartened to see the damage both trees sustained — and expressed shock that the tiny pagoda, with just a diameter of 23 inches, was still standing.“What’s the purpose? I mean, you destroy the tree or that tree, and what do you get out of it? What’s the actual purpose of you destroyin...