DOT: Destroying landscapes one street tree at a time

This is part of a letter sent to DOT from a member of Kissena Park Civic Association
"While it is understood that NYC DOT is required to maintain a functioning infrastructure, it should not occur at the cost of our important street tree assets. Observed was intentional damages to a healthy, veteran curbside pin oak street tree and several other curbside trees during curb restoration by the NYC DOT SIM program (Sidewalk Inspection & Maintenance).
As otherwise would be required by Parks Forestry the magnitude of mechanical damages and harm to trees roots that occurred, saw that BMP arboricultural planning, supervision and oversight was not provided at this location by NYC DOT and its field crew.
As a result numerous important tree roots were needlessly ripped and torn, both harming the street tree and diminishing its importance to the community- when an alternate approach was clearly available. One may call this troubling treatment of our community trees, "business as usual".
And many from our community wonder why we continue to see business as usual tree abuses by City agencies and their leadership, who clearly should know better."

Tree fight in Bellerose

From the Times Ledger:

A stately, 100-year-old Black Locust tree has sparked a war between two neighbors in Bellerose, with one man claiming the tree’s roots damaged his property and one woman worried that clearing the roots would cause the massive tree to topple over.

The neighbors both agree the spat began with a conversation across their shared backyard fence this summer. During the conversation, Mahendra Shah, who lives on 250th Street, asked Carolina Florica, who lives on 249th Street, where the tree is located, if she would remove some of the large, shallow tree roots growing onto his property.

After that point, however, they seem to agree on almost nothing.

Shah said he wants the tree roots gone because he believes they caused a large crack in the wall of his stand-alone, single-car garage and in the stones of his back patio.

He also said he is considering building a shed in the backyard, but cannot move forward with the plan unless the roots are scaled back.

But Florica disputes Shah’s allegation that the tree is the cause of the garage’s crack and says she should not be responsible for cutting the tree roots, saying the tree was there long before she or her neighbor were.

Florica called a New York-certified home inspector with Garber Home Inspections and an urban ecologist with Worldwide Ecology, Dr. Steven D. Garber, to inspect the tree and Shah’s garage this summer. According to an affidavit Garber gave to Florica’s attorney, the garage’s damage was not due to the tree but rather to freezing and thawing water from the roof, which Garber said does not have a gutter and is poorly maintained.

In addition, the affidavit warns cutting away portions of the tree’s root system could be dangerous, making it more susceptible to health issues “that could weaken the tree, cause death of parts of the tree and make it more likely to lose branches [or] fall in a storm.”

Homeowners must pay for sewer repairs

From the Times Ledger:

Laurelton homeowners say city sidewalk trees are wreaking havoc with their sewer lines, leaving them few options but to replace the lines themselves at a hefty cost.

Through its Forestry Services, the city Parks Department removes dead sidewalk trees, prunes their branches and repairs sidewalks damaged by the trees’ roots. A spokesman for the department said the responsibility of maintaining and repairing sewer systems falls on the shoulders of property owners.

“Tree roots cannot damage sound pipes and only intrude if they have been afforded access by a break or perforation,” the spokesman said. “Older sewage lines sometimes rupture due to deteriorating joints or settling earth, seeping water and nutrients into the surrounding soil. Once roots discover these leaks, they tend to grow towards and enter the source.”

“Parks does not permit the removal of healthy trees, even in cases where roots may be interfering with a sewer,” the spokesman continued. “There are a number of temporary fixes that can be explored, including the use of commercial drain cleaning products or professional root clearing services. However, the only real lasting solution is to repair the defective sewer line with impervious, watertight piping.”