Evolution of a Queens street corner

147th Street and Delaware Avenue, Flushing

NY Post. City Demands Landlord Pay.

"Amazing isn't it, the inconsistency and selectivity by this mayoral agency in pursuing who damages and harms public street trees, who gets fined for those damages and the "special groups" like developers here in Queens that astonishingly get away with their nefarious tree damaging behavior without any noticeable summonsing or jail time - even when New York's Greenest have been alerted about it." - anonymous

Brooklyn developer heavily fined for arboricide

From CBS 2:

The city is demanding more than $176,000 from a Brooklyn developer accused of committing arborcide – the act of killing a tree.

As WCBS 880’s Mike Smeltz reported, city estimates say the pin oak tree that stood in front of 299 South 4th St. in Williamsburg had been there for at least 75 years and possibly up to 100 years.

An inspector found it with more than a dozen two-inch deep holes drilled into hits base that left the crown of the tree 90 percent dead.

Now the city believes the developer, Noah Amos – or someone acting on behalf of Amos – was the one who caused damage to the tree.

Kew Gardens apartment complex carries out tree massacre

"Dear Crappie,

This is what the management company did to the tenants of a garden apartments in Kew Gardens, without a word. The residents awoke to the sounds of chainsaws and they are in shock and can’t really believe it happened. Mature trees that were there for many years and provided a beautiful green space for the residents including the birds and squirrels were gone in a day.

Many of the people are mad but there is nothing they can do. They were given no warning or reasons for doing this. Were the large trees a liability from falling branches? They could have been pruned. Were they causing structural damage to the foundation? Only those trees should be removed. Were they causing the gutters to clog? They could install screens.

The plan they posted is to make a formal English Garden with shrubs and sitting areas. This is nesting season for birds, hopefully many of them will relocate to Maple Grove Cemetery." - Rich
_______________________________

Unfortunately, any nestlings in those trees who could not yet fly were most likely destroyed even though some of them fall under the protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. You may want to contact your local congress person. - QC

The sad demise of a Ridgewood street tree

You may recall back in 2013 when a school building under construction in Ridgewood resulted in the damage of the street trees around its perimeter. Well it appears that the destruction of one of the trees was completed this week.

I'm sure the stump will stay for quite some time. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they just removed it and filled in the tree pit.

Taxpayer money planted it, helped destroy it and took it away.

Francis Lewis tree massacre

"Why are old growth city owned curb trees being cut down near Francis Lewis & Crocheron?

Those trees are big...must have been there since the 1950s!

Couldn't they have just trimmed them?" - The Flushing Phantom

R.I.P. Historic Wych Elm of Downtown Flushing

Cutting and removal of the historic Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra) on Franklin Ave, downtown Flushing by NYC Parks Forestry in early November was prompted by the continuum of allowed blatant and egregious construction impacts upon an invaluable public tree asset, the absence of effective interventions by those in charge when they had the opportunity to do so (NYC Parks Forestry) as well the use of legal action against the perpetrators of tree abuse when it was occurring (NYC School Construction Authority), despite a community rally with the then City Council Member Liu to ensure tree preservation by those agencies.

It is clear NYC Parks forestry operations are not in the public tree protection and preservation business despite their core mission statement that directs them to do so. No wonder we are loosing many of our most important and invaluable large public trees.

Who then speaks for the trees?

Attached: The last views of this aged rare historic street tree.

Carsten Glaeser

Astoria Mountain being flattened

We have word from George the Atheist that the Berrian Blvd landfill which was proposed to become a park is in the process of being denuded of trees and bulldozed.

Arboricide in Whitestone

From the Queens Chronicle:

Rich Yanniti drives the Q15A bus along 10th Avenue in Whitestone and recently noticed the fallen trees along his route. He and at least one neighbor are displeased to say the least.

Both were planted this spring as part of the city’s MillionTreesNYC initiative and their posts still stood this week. Their tags still indicated that they were linden redmonds, but the lines beneath the words “tree cared for by” were blank. And the trees were felled.

The cuts were smooth, indicating the intentional work of a saw blade.

One was sawed down about a month ago, Yanniti believes, and the other one was slain more recently, around Aug. 6.

Both were still in place in front of 151-45 10th Ave. as of last Sunday afternoon.

He said he also reported damage to a third, more mature tree around the corner, which appears to have an incision around the trunk, but still stands.

Yanniti reported the destruction to the city Parks Department.

100-year old felled tree may return to Astoria

DNA Info

From DNA Info:

A century-old tree that was chopped down by city workers this spring to the dismay of local residents could turn over a new leaf.

An arborist is using a salvaged piece of the massive American Elm — which had grown on 34th Street for decades before it was cut down by the Parks Department in March — to try to clone the tree, which was beloved by neighbors on the block.

Residents had watched in horror three months ago as workers cut down the tree, which the Parks Department said had begun to show signs of decay.

Anna Jutis, who's lived on the block for more than 40 years, kept several pieces of the tree that were left behind as mementos — including a large section of a branch, which she put in her backyard.

Jutis was surprised, she said, when she noticed the piece begin to sprout new branches and bright green leaves a few weeks ago.

"Suddenly we noticed a little branch, and then gradually longer and longer, and more, more all around," said Jutis, a retired paraprofessional. "I was so happy. That tree did not die. That tree survived."

A neighbor who learned of the tree's re-birth contacted David McMaster of Bartlett Tree Experts, who came and took cuttings from the Elm on Monday afternoon and will use them to try and grow clones of the original tree.

"It's going to have 100 percent DNA of the original plant," he said. "To try and get 100 percent of the real tree back to them."

McMaster will bring the 15 to 20 cuttings he took to the greenhouse at John Bowne High School in Flushing, where he and students in the agriculture program will attempt to get them to grow roots by dipping them in a "root generating hormone" and planting them in perlite and water.

Steinway Mansion owner won't comment on plans

From the Queens Chronicle:

Bob Singleton, of the Greater Astoria Historical Society and the friends group, said he wouldn’t comment before hearing from the owners, one of whom is Philip Loria of an Astoria-based law firm, but noted there is a great love for the structure.

Last May, when they bought the mansion, he said they don’t plan to tear it down.

“We want to create a win-win for everyone,” Loria said.

After multiple attempts to contact Loria, an employee at Loria & Associates said Wednesday that he does not plan to comment on the matter for a while.

Oh you want plans? Well, take a look. It ain't pretty.

The destruction of the Steinway Mansion landscape from a better perspective

And more from George the Atheist.

Steinway Mansion trees destroyed

From Greater Astoria Historical Society's Facebook page. The images speak for themselves.

Parks destroys 100 year old Astoria tree

From CBS 2:

People in the neighborhood said the Parks Department told them the old tree was rotted and hollow inside. But when they cut it down, it was not hollow at all.

“You didn’t have to be an expert to see, it’s a healthy; a very healthy tree,” said Anna Jutis.
Jutis has admired the tree for the 45 years she has lived in the area. Now, she and others are mourning its loss.

Patterson said she was assured multiple times by city officials that the tree would be safe.
“Their exact words were, ‘It will never be cut down, because it’s a landmark,’” she said.
But now, they are left with a stump, and pieces of the tree as souvenirs.

Chop, chop!

From the Queens Courier:

“X” marks the spot to chop.

The Parks Department has come into Howard Beach for a second round of tree removal.


This is a continuation of the previous tree removal process that took place in September. All Sandy-stricken trees that the Parks Department feels are too far gone and not likely to survive will be cut down and replaced, according to the agency. There is still not an exact number for how many trees will be cut as the agency is still surveying the area.

“The trees marked with an ‘X’ are indeed part of the Sandy removal and replacement efforts, and are scheduled to be removed and replaced over the next year,” a Parks spokeswomen said. “The total number of trees is still evolving and continues to do so as we mark additional trees.”

The Parks Department is still in the process of replanting the ones they took down in September.

What did the poor tree do to them?

From Edge of the City:

A reader sent in this photo a few weeks ago. It really is an outrage. He explains below:

The construction site at [click this, it's a doozy - QC] 71-57 Austin Street in Forest Hills already has numerous DOB violations and now the contractor has just poured cement into the two sidewalk tree pits in front of the property. The fate of the trees has literally been sealed. We strive so hard to protect our street trees. When I see this, I get really upset. I can't understand why contractors continuously do this throughout our borough.

There goes the green: unhappy ending

And because every blade of grass in the borough must be paved over, I present this latest crappification from Maspeth.

Yes, that pile of dung on the right (four 3-family homes) replaced an empty corner lot. Well, empty doesn't accurately describe it - it was actually a beautiful collection of trees.

Now it's just crap. I called this one back in 2007...

What's the real plan for the Klein Farm?

From the Queens Chronicle:

Area civic leaders remain concerned about the future of the Klein farm property in Fresh Meadows following its recent sale to a convicted felon who illegally tore down trees on the protected site.

Ziming Shen of Manhattan, who runs a preschool on the historic Klein property at 194-15 73 Ave., remains under house arrest for stealing funds designated for poor children’s lunches from his chain of Red Apple preschools.

Although Shen was hauled into court in May for not meeting his obligation of paying the $5.2 million judgment against him, he bought the Klein property a month later for $5.6 million and got a $1.45 million mortgage, according to the city’s Department of Finance records.

Shen had been renting the property under a six-year lease for the preschool from another convicted felon, Thomas Huang, who bought it in 2003 for $4.3 million as part of his now-defunct Audrey Realty.

Huang had wanted to build 22 two-family houses or 18 dwellings, but both plans failed since the site is located in a special planned community preservation district.

Last year, Shen illegally destroyed several mature trees on the property and illegally constructed a driveway. He was fined $1,600. Since then, the trees have not been replaced and the front yard on the 2.5-acre site has been neglected.

Preschool classes are now held in an adjacent house on the property. In the past, the large brick farmhouse was used for the school.

Area civic activists, who for years have wanted the property converted to public use as a farm museum or similar institution, are puzzled by the recent high-priced purchase since Shen will be unable to develop the property.

Klein Farm finally sold

From the Times Ledger:

Fresh Meadows’ Klein Farm has been sold to tenants who recently accepted responsibility for illegally cutting down trees on the historic property.

Ziming Shen’s Fresh Meadows Children’s Farm LLC bought the farm, at 194-15 73rd Ave., last week for $5.6 million from Audrey Realty Corp., a firm headed by Henry Huang, son of notorious developer Thomas Huang.

Shen was hit with $1,600 in fines by the city after his daycare center, Preschool for America, which leased the farm, altered the driveway and cut down trees without the necessary permits.

The farm sits in the Fresh Meadows Special Planned Community Preservation District, meaning any significant changes to the property have to be approved by the City Planning Commission.

Outraged neighbors and community leaders first noticed the trees being cut down last fall and reported the arborcide to the city Department of Buildings.

The property was the borough’s last family-owned, working farm before the Huangs bought it in 2003 for $4.3 million. They then unsuccessfully tried to develop the farm into 22 two-family homes.

Neither Huang nor Shen returned requests for comment.

Bowne Park plan puts trees in harm's way

From the Queens Courier:

The July 10 Courier reporting on the planned “facelift” and revitalized green space of Flushing’s Bowne Park comes with a cost far greater than the proposed $2.45M capital construction expense, if we consider the large long-lived trees that populate the park. In addition to aesthetics, we must be mindful of the high economic value and benefits and services that those trees provide.

Yet, one park-wide construction facelift across a highly tree-sensitive landscape will result in needless tree losses in short time. With its heavy equipment and excavation, the harmful compaction of soils along with the deliberate absence of effective tree and landscape protections shall see scores of large park trees compromised in health. Such is the historical pattern of many NYC Parks Capital Construction park-revitalization projects populated by public trees. It is a division that is misguided and tree-unfriendly.

In 2013, the Chronicle reported on such a Parks Capital project in Queens at the Ridgewood Reservoir. Several venerable, irreplaceable 150-year old specimen plane trees and the adjacent open landscape were abused and harmed for a design scheme that did all but consider the “trees’ needs.” In 2004, a $2.0M Parks Capital lake-revitalization project in Kissena Park saw similar large shade trees abused by having protection and oversight removed to expedite the project to the financial gain of a contractor. Once magnificent, broad-canopied lakeside trees valued at $1.8M (as a living public asset) are now mere tree-skeletons, with a cost value that is quickly approaching zero.

By not addressing the trees’ needs amid construction, municipalities allow for tree abuses. When tree-unfriendly and illogical design schemes with award-winning intentions take preference over the trees’ needs, the outcome is never good. An effectively implemented and enforced state-of-the-art Tree and Landscape Protection Plan could combat this abuse. If carried out by the right arboricultural professional and given a level of autonomy and close collaboration with the project engineer, a Tree and Landscape Protection Plan could effectively reverse the tree abuse trends and consequences that have been witnessed.

Another Ridgewood tree tragedy

This one was likely the victim of a truck pulling out of the under-construction school on DeKalb Ave near Seneca.