Thursday, January 29, 2015

Should property owners be consulted before tree planting?

From the Times Ledger:

In November, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) stood in front of his office with some homeowners asking the city to let them decide if they want a new tree planted close to their properties.

They claimed problems with trees include breaking sewer lines, pushing up sidewalks and the non-removal of stumps.

According to Avella, a letter he received from the city agency noted, “Just as residents do not determine the placement of city infrastructure such as traffic lights, bus stops or fire hydrants, they are unable to refuse the planting of a city tree in the public right-of-way.”

The lawmaker fired back, saying that “when a city refuses to hear the voices of its residents, something is profoundly wrong.”

The legislator noted that he is drafting legislation “to ensure that we are able to maintain the trees that we have before subjecting homeowners and residents to the liabilities that come with planting new ones.”

Avella said he had a meeting with officials at Parks, but they told him that the policy would not be changed.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

It shouldn't be changed. We have enough shitskins in this city who love concrete. We need more green.

Anonymous said...

When the tree pushes up the sidewalk, it becomes the responsibility of the owner to fix the sidewalk, not Parks.

Anonymous said...

The tree will not cause any problem, if any,until it is fully matured....about 40 or 50 years from now. His house as well as his neighbors will have been converted into one massive multiple housing complex by then.

Anonymous said...

Why is he so adamant about this?. He won't even be living when that tree gets big enough to cause problems.

Anonymous said...

I hate people who hate trees. It may take 30-40 years for the roots to push up the sidewalk. By then you'll be dead. Don't worry about it.

Anonymous said...

"When the tree pushes up the sidewalk, it becomes the responsibility of the owner to fix the sidewalk, not Parks."

Unless you call and register your tree-caused sidewalk problem, then you're off the hook.

Anonymous said...

What about the trees that were planted in the '70s and '80s, some 35-45 years ago? The present home owner is responsible for fixing the sidewalk, not the Parks Dept.

Queens Crapper said...

Nope.

Anonymous said...

DO NOT CHANGE IT!!!! We will end up with ZERO trees in Queens.

Almost every Asian kills EVERY tree on their property as soon as they move in and plants their stupid little fruit trees.

And then there are the moronic owners that pave over the city-owned strip of green between the sidewalk and thew street.

We now have treeless, soulless street all over Flooshing!

Anonymous said...

No homeowner veto for trees.

Parts of sidewalks which once were occupied by trees and paved over should be busted up and trees planted.

And will someone please explain why the Asians hate trees so?

Anonymous said...

In his last reelection, Sen. Avella had the endorsement of the Sierra Club and League of Conervation Voters. Kiss those endrosements goodbye, Tony!

Anonymous said...

As a homeowner in Queens who had a city tree (between the sidewalk and street) push up a sidewalk- Parks department has emailed me stating that the Parks Department will replace the sidewalk. The tree is not my property and therefor any damages caused by it are not my responsibility.

georgetheatheist said...

Asians can hang their chickens to dry-out on tree limbs. My Chinese neighbor's tenant did that. I've got photos.

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree.
Chickens here. Chickens there.
Chickens everywhere.

Jerry Rotondi said...

The holder of the deed to his or her property has the right of landscaping as they wish. Since they do not own NYC's collective property, they have no rights in the matter of what the city plants on the verge strips. If you do not like trees, then move into an apartment in a concrete jungle.

Anonymous said...

'Asians can hang their chickens to dry-out on tree limbs. My Chinese neighbor's tenant did that. I've got photos.'

I thought chickens grew on trees! Go figure! So much for my publik skool edumacation!

Anonymous said...

I usually agree with Tony Avella but on this issue he is dead wrong.

Anonymous said...

and if we do not have the trees where will the dogs crap and urinate???

Anonymous said...

Yeah and when the tree roots make a hole in your main sewer line be ready to fork over at $10,000 to fix it. All for more greenery.

Anonymous said...

Let the owner 3 generations henceforth worry about it.

Anonymous said...

A couple of months ago, I saw a Chinese woman swinging from the branch of a tree in front of my yard, by the curb. It certainly appeared that she was deliberately trying to break the branch off. I opened the window and told her off in no uncertain terms. Haven't seen that nut job around since.

It's bad enough that Chinese bums come around to our recycling garbage cans and rummage through them. By now they've learned there's no redeemable bottles in mine--I return my own bottles.

While birdwatching in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, I once had to tell some more Chinese nuts to stop embracing and rubbing against the trees. You'd have thought they were cats in heat, the weird way they were interacting with the trees (which is illegal in the park, you are not allowed to do stuff to the trees which might damage them). What the heck is with that, rubbing against and embracing trees? Is that some splinter (haha) Chinese religious group?