Stumped in Hollis

From: Deen, Gibran A
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 10:38 AM
To: 'pbilbo@cb12queens.org'
Subject: Hurricane Sandy Damage....

To Whom It May Concern……
Good Morning, my name is Gibran Deen and I live at 89-20 196 St. Hollis, NY 11423
Super storm Sandy wreaked havoc on many New Yorkers and I was one of those folks. My family and I did not suffer much significant damages, we were very lucky and fortunate. Nonetheless, the storm brought down a very big tree that was in the front of my home. It left us without power for several days, damaged me and my neighbors vehicles; fortunately our homes were spared. NYC parks personnel subsequently responded and removed the tree leaving behind the massive tree root / stump. The tree root is sitting above the road surface and my driveway making it very difficult for my vehicle to enter and leave. I reached out to the parks department but no response was provided as to when the tree root/stump will be removed. I’m writing to you in hopes that someone might be able to advance my request and have this obstacle removed as soon as possible.

Thanks

Yes, it's still there...

Here's what Parks says: Stump removal

All stumps remaining from tree removal operations performed by Parks are recorded and registered. Stump removals are dependent on the availability of funding. We currently have a backlog of stumps awaiting removal. If you are a property owner who would like a City-owned stump removed, we have two options for you to consider:

You can request a new tree via 311 or our tree service request system, and if the stump is less than approximately 30 inches in diameter, our planting contractors will remove the stump during a new tree planting process.

You can obtain a tree work permit from Parks and hire a contractor to remove the stump at your own expense. If you prefer this option, permit applications and instructions are available on our Working On or Near Trees page.

Stumped on Linden Street

Back in 2011, there was a happy little tree on the corner of Linden Street at 60th Place in Ridgewood.

But then something bad happened (Sandy?), and now all that's left is this stump, which has been here for months, and has some kind of identifying number painted on it, similar to a toe-tag on a cadaver.

It would be nice if someone picked this eyesore up and disposed of it properly.

Street tree attitudes: Compare and contrast

I don't usually post Long Island stories, but this one struck me.

Notice how the people who live in Jericho are mourning the loss of their trees. Compare them with the Queens residents who poison the street trees in front of their homes because they don't want to clean up leaves.

And check out the removal technique. Why is it that the Town of Jericho can remove a tree so that you wouldn't even know there had been a tree there if you didn't live there, yet in the advanced society of NYC, ugly stumps that you can trip over are always left behind?

A problem that has people stumped

I was planning to embed this video from WPIX, but they upgraded their site and took away that feature. The City isn't the only pain in the ass around here.

UPDATE 10PM: Apparently, it's back to the old format, so I embedded the video above...