Queens Crap ensign Ken Klinger first brought our attention to this McMansion in Bayside back in December of 2007. Well, as you can see, it ain't finished yet. 
What caught my eye (after the anti-Rip Torn graffiti) was that sign on the tree. Why is the Parks Department preserving this tree and how do they do so on private land?
20 comments:
DPR claims jursidiction of any tree 6 feet from the curb.
Not in my neighborhood, they don't!
Why would they claim jurisdiction of trees 6 feet from the curb when the public right of way is 15 feet?
I got that tree sign placed there.
It's legally a NYC tree and I wanted to be sure the developer wouldn't tear it down (rumor has it they intended to do so...).
edit: I alerted the Parks Dept. to the tree's purported fate and "got" that tree sign placed there!
in this instance it's probably good, as the DPR is preventing that tree from being cut down by the developer through claiming jurisdiction, but looked at from the standpoint of the average homeowner, kind of disturbing to think that the DPR owns trees on private land (if Ant is right) as it gives the DPR the right to go on homeowners' land and chop down trees, as they well might with Benepe heading it. Heck, he might even start tearing up people's lawns and laying down astroturf!
the right of way depends on the mapped width of the street. for a typical 60' mapped street in Queens, 6' from the curb is usually the rule of thumb; it'll be within those 60'. the distance from the curb can be more or less based on how wide the street is mapped which can be different that what's actually built. 15' sounds more of a Manhattan street mapped at 80' or 100', although and 80' Queens avenue probably has as much too.
proving that a tree is in the ROW when it's being cut down is difficult without taking pictures of the act and the tree's distance from the curb. When the boards are blocking views of this distance, there isn't anything you can do unless the tree is so large like the one in the picture, that it's evident.
you're suppose to report these things to 311, but taking pictures and reporting it directly to DPR's Forestry Division will also work.
It'll also only help to take pictures of these trees before the boards go up and the demolition permits are contemplated by going to work and documenting everything when the fore sale post goes into the ground.
Ah, now we're getting somewhere. So you mean that if a group wanted to be proactive, they would take inventory of how many trees are 6' from the curb and then provide this list to the Parks Dept? I know, the Parks Dept should really have this info at their disposal already, but don't. I know of several instances where Parks' forestry division was called when trees close to the street were being cut down and the callers were told "well, it's on private property, so we can't do anything about it." The problem is that many people who work at Parks are not even up to speed on what the rules are.
Ant, are there maps available anywhere so that a person can know what the ROW is on a particular street?
If those lazy "parkies" were doing a real job
instead of warming a bench in NYC officialdom,....
ALL SUCH TREES ON CITY TURF
should be flagged on DOB records
(like landmarks are)
so that a builder is properly and legally notified
before he decides to commit arboricide!
Thanks be to Paul Di B. for saving
this ancient and wonderful tree!
Our homeowners association is
appointing a "tree watch" volunteer
to keep an eye on all city owned trees.
This volunteer will be supported
by each one of our block captains .
NYC owned trees
need to be all mapped by the CBs!
Here are some of the rules on "street trees"
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_permits_and_applications/images_and_pdfs/buildingpermitflyer.pdf
http://nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/trees_greenstreets/tree_damage_arborcide.html
http://nycgovparks.org/sub_permits_and_applications/images_and_pdfs/NYC-Parks-Dept.-Street-Tree-Planting-Permit-and-Guidelines.pdf
They're called section maps and you can get them from the Borough President's Topographical Bureau. They're somewhere on Queens Blvd where the DOB is.
It's a walk in and request type thing though, don't expect them to just send it you because you ask nicely.
They're pretty nice actually, I have one framed of my neighborood. They list all the old street names too.
I interviewed for a position at the Bronx Topographic Bureau last year which is at the Borough President's Office. I was a top choice but unfortunately they wanted someone with more Bronx experience. I guess I'll get that Bronx experience starting in the summer and searching for some Bronx Crap.
"I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."
-Joyce Kilmer, 1886-1918
One would also incur a pretty healthy fine if caught cutting down a city tree.
Parks imposes a per-inch fee based on the diameter (or is it circumference... damned "new math") of the tree.
Any sizable tree can easily get into the thousands or tens of thousands.
George, was that Kilmer quote an admission on your part?
good poem. Most old ones are. But speaking of poetry, what's up with the convoluting lingo on the Parks Dept sign: "Touch Not This Tree." Couldn't they've just written: "Don't Touch This Tree?"
"They're called section maps and you can get them from the Borough President's Topographical Bureau. They're somewhere on Queens Blvd where the DOB is."
Queens Boulevard & 83rd Avenue, I believe? Diagonally across from the courthouse.
No admission of any kind. I just thought I'd throw Kilmer into the mix. ("A tree that looks at God all day and lifts her leafy arms to pray..." is just a poetic example of heliotropism.)
Bless you, Paul. Here in the Bowne Park area, the tall trees are being cut down by the McMansioneers. Each summer, the canopy is leaner. So sad. Another one just went down on 160th St. and 32nd Ave., and I highly doubt it was taken down by the city (it's right in front of an older house in whose backyard some crass developer built another house--so crowded and ugly now). A beautiful, enormous tree that shaded the intersection. Must've been there since the 1920s. Gone. Every month or two, another is taken down. It breaks my heart.
The tree on 160 & 32 was knocked down by wind. Power went out so it was on the news. BUT we think it went down because the developer (who owned the original house that he renovated and the one he built behind it) leveled the sidewalk. This tree, with it's thick trunk, was left to stand on that narrow patch of grass between the sidewalk and the street. Some of these trees have shallow roots. Did you know there was a nursery on Prince Street that George Washington came to and ordered trees for his home? I am sure some of our trees in the Bowne Park area are that old. Did anyone take a good look at this trees rings? It was OLD!
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