NYC Trees - and Politics
- Subject: [cg] NYC Trees - and Politics
- From: a*@aol.com
- Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 16:19:03 -0500
OK, kids, we have to pass a NYC Council Ordinance requiring all developers, Utility Providers, anyone who digs up the streets, to have a CITY MANDATED horticulturalist/arborist scope out their trees and set out a plan of work that will preserve them.
I'll reach out to Chris Quinn, the City Council Chair, who's my councilperson - are the rest of you ready to go to work on this INTRO?
Regards,
Adam Honigman
-----Original Message-----
From: dlogg60798@aol.com
To: Adam36055@aol.com; community_garden@mallorn.com; cybergardens@treebranch.com; cyberpark.@treebranch.com; urban.parks@topica.com
Cc: Corktree03@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 15:08:47 -0500
Subject: [cg] Re: (Urban.Parks) The Final Word on those Brooklyn Trees
Not the final word, I hope we hear that the trees are replaced and that some
action is taken to insure this does not happen again. Someone issued a permit
for the work. Maybe a Parks Horticulturalist or Landscape Architect should be
required to be onsite. As Mr. Glaeser knows, this is not the first time this
type of thing happened.
Vol. 13, No. 11June 15 - 28, 2000
THE STATE OF OUR PARKS -- Sixth in a Series
Decade After Tree Massacre Parkway Back on Track
By HANNAN ADELY
It's been 10 years since a city contractor notoriously cut down over 30 maple
trees on Mosholu Parkway in the midst of a lengthy sewer and water main project.
The incident, which came to be known as the Mosholu Parkway Tree Massacre,
sparked a loud and angry community outcry and ultimately changed how the city
undertakes such projects.
Today, Mosholu Parkway, which runs from Van Cortlandt Park to the New York
Botanical Garden, shows little trace of the decade-old destruction. The parkway,
lined by wide, tree-filled lawns and a newly paved bike path, is a popular
recreation area with improvements fueled by community volunteer efforts and
implemented by the Parks Department.
Tree Massacre Spurs Action
It was 1988 when Perez Interboro Asphalt, Inc. began a project to install a new
sewer and water main system in Norwood. "That project was a disaster from day
one," said Myra Goggins, who lived in Norwood at the time, and is now president
of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition.
Goggins recalled that the contractor dug a six-foot hole in front of her
building on East Mosholu Parkway North and left it there for the whole summer.
"There was so much dust and dirt, you couldn't even open your window," she said.
The dirt was such a huge problem that traffic could hardly move on Bainbridge
Avenue when it rained, said homeowner Bill Friedheim. The huge holes dug in the
streets were also unguarded, posing potential danger to children, residents
complained.
But the last straw came one day in November of 1989 when construction workers
cut down the trees from Webster Avenue to 206th Street. "They were bringing in
these chainsaws," Friedheim said. "My wife and I ran out and told them they have
to stop."
When Goggins came home from work that day, her phone was flooded with calls from
neighbors. "They were sawing them at the base and putting them in the chopper,"
she said. "Then they were ground into wood chips."
For residents, the trees were a trademark of Norwood's beauty, and also had
historical value, having been planted 70 years ago in memory of soldiers who
died in World War I.
Mobilizing quickly, residents and members of the Mosholu Woodlawn South
Community Coalition called the Bronx borough president and urged him to get the
Parks Department to halt the work. The company stopped work at about 4:45 p.m.,
but that was after the 33 trees were killed.
Residents were outraged, especially since they had already complained that trees
were being damaged by the work. "Even we could see things weren't installed
properly. [Using big machinery], they were banging into trees and damaging the
roots and branches," Goggins said.
City Admits Fault, Changes Policy
The incident erupted into a scandal covered in the citywide media, as details
emerged that the city was grossly negligent in its planning and that the
construction company had a checkered past.
"They [Perez Interboro Asphalt, Inc.] had a record of poor delivery on contracts
and just a history of problems," Friedheim said. "They did incredibly sloppy
work ... constantly cutting into gas lines, all as a result of careless work."
Both the Parks Department and the Department of Transportation (DOT) admitted
they made big mistakes. The Parks Department had given the contractor the
go-ahead to remove the trees after the company had improperly installed new
sidewalks, which were too low to support the trees' roots.
A DOT memorandum investigating the incident stated bluntly, "Our consultants ...
were sloppy, irresponsible and thoughtless. Our own employees provided little or
no direction and seemed disinterested and ill-equipped. Our management spent too
little time on this job and displayed insensitivity toward the community."
The DOT also revealed that the resident engineer falsified on his resume that he
was a registered professional engineer.
The city altered its policy so that tree consultants would be required for all
major construction projects.
"It's an historical event because general contractors have all heard of the
Mosholu massacre," said Carsten Glaeser, a plant biologist at Lehman College and
a tree expert. Glaeser is hired by construction companies to "ensure damage to
trees is minimized" and works as a liaison to the forestry division of the Parks
Department.
According to Glaeser, contractors need to have a tree consultant full-time
during excavation work, either on site or on call, to assess the project, so
that root damage, limb breakage and bark wounds can be prevented.
"By reducing damage by construction, you increase longevity of trees," Glaeser
said. Tree damage invites decay, fungus and parasites, and can cause a tree to
rot within five to seven years, he explained.
Following the tree fiasco, the city did a new landscaping of the parkway,
planting bushes and replacement trees. The trees are still much skinnier and
sparser than the older ones, but residents say the area is generally in good
shape.
Taking on Mosholu Maintenance
The parkway is used for a variety of recreational activities including jogging,
picnicking, tanning and sledding. The recently renovated Kossuth Playground and
the relatively new Knox- Gates Playground, both on the parkway's north side are
popular destinations for neighborhood youth.
The Bedford Mosholu Community Association (BMCA), a volunteer community group,
and the Friends of Mosholu Parkway, a group affiliated with the coalition that
has been inactive recently, have worked over the past 10 years to help maintain
the area, holding cleanups and plantings, and pushing for improvements.
Back in 1997, when crumbling sidewalks on the Bedford Park side resulted in
senior citizens falling, BMCA gathered 300 petition signatures and sent them to
the Bronx Parks Commissioner Bill Castro and elected officials. With money
allotted by Councilwoman June Eisland, Castro fixed problem sections of the
sidewalk and replanted trees in Gully Park, located in the southeastern corner
of the parkway between Marion and Webster avenues.
The Parks Department also recently paved over a stone path on the north side of
the parkway to make it suitable for bicycling, forging a fluid connection along
the Mosholu-Pelham Greenway, a network of paths connecting Van Cortlandt Park in
the west to City Island and Orchard Beach in the east,. The newly-paved section
goes from Gun Hill Road to Van Cortlandt Avenue East. Previously, bikers would
go onto the roadway of the parkway when they approached that part of the trail,
according to Richard Gans, a member of Transportation Alternatives, a cyclist
advocacy group.
Gully Park improvements are now in BMCA's sights. According to BMCA president
Barbara Stronzcer, the retaining wall in Gully Park is deteriorating and its
many holes are attracting rodents to the park. She added that the park could
also use a general cleanup and planting.
Castro said the area is baited regularly for rodents, and that the Parks
Department is developing a punch list for Gully Park improvements.
Stronczer had no major complaints for the rest of the parkway area, but said she
would like to see more daily maintenance. "It's a big area and there is not
enough staff," she said.
Overall, the consensus seems to be that Mosholu Parkway is in better shape than
it has been in years, especially since the days of the Tree Massacre.
"The parkway looks even better now than before," Goggins said.
Get Involved
To contact the Bedford Mosholu Community Association, write to 400 E. Mosholu
Parkway, Bronx, NY 10458.
To contact the Mosholu Woodlawn South Community Coalition, which
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Honigman <Adam36055@aol.com>
To: community_garden@mallorn.com.; cybergardens@treebranch.com;
cyberpark.@treebranch.com; urban.parks@topica.com
Cc: Corktree03@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 14:41:44 -0500
Subject: (Urban.Parks) The Final Word on those Brooklyn Trees
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From the horse's mouth
Best wishes,
Adam Honigman
-----Original Message-----
From: To: Adam36055
Sent: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 2:21:05 PM Eastern Standard Time
Subject: Arboricide in BK
Greetings Adam-
I was forwarded an email with your name and am replying.
I am a consulting arborist and have worked on NYC infrastructure projects
involving NYC street trees for the past 10 years. So there are no
misunderstandings, it is in all cases a contractors neglect and his intent on
maximizing time and profits that result in damage to our trees. York
Restoration with their staff of professionals neglected to secure the services
of a professional consulting arborist with experience in Construction & Trees
prior to and during the excavation work. Had the contractor paid a certified
arborist to carefully monitor the guide the excavation work to minimize root
damage, we wouldn't have this issue, the trees would have been saved and the mud
slinging at the Department of Parks would not be occurring.
The Department of Parks Brooklyn Forestry team are as serious about our street
trees and critical of arrogant contractors as I am. Forestry is not to blame.
Respectfully
Carsten Glaeser Ph.D
Certified Arborist
Glaeser Horticultural Consulting Inc
Flushing, NY
corktree03@aol.com
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