Goodbye trees, hello crap!

From the NY Times:

There is an idyllic little pond in the Bronx that might make any newcomer stop and stare and say, “Say, just what is that pond doing in the Bronx?”

The answer is that this is Fieldston, the section of Riverdale that resembles an English garden district. Indian Pond has been a park for residents for nearly a century.

But now the pond is threatened, many residents fear, by the proposed development of an adjacent parcel of land. The developer says he plans to cut down many of the majestic trees around the pond and build a driveway near it.

A lawyer for the owners says a consultant will be hired to ensure that the pond is not damaged, but many neighbors worry, nonetheless, that the removal of the trees would cause runoff and disturb the fragile environment around the pond.

The property, 1.3 acres at 4680 Fieldston Road, is owned by three brothers — Matthew, Edward and Marshall Bloomfield — who plan on subdividing and building three additional houses. The project would require the removal of 50 of the 81 trees on the property, many of them more than a century old.

The loss of the trees and the development of the property could disturb the already delicate ecology of the pond, said one resident, Peter Mott.

“It’s in trouble, and I worry very much that adding three new houses will add more runoff into the pond,” he said. “It certainly won’t be the same place it is now.”

The owners must apply to the board, and also to the city’s Planning Commission and Landmarks Preservation Commission for approval.