N E W S
M A R C H 15
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L E H A V R E
Northeast Queens residents unhappy
with city’s tree services: pol
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Bayside-based lawmaker says a recent constituent
WWW.QNS.COM | MARCH 2018 | LEHAVRE COURIER 15
survey confirms that the city needs to change its
approach to taking care of its trees.
State Senator Tony Avella, who represents District
11, recently announced findings from a constituent
survey his office conducted asking residents for
their thoughts on the city’s tree removal and pruning
services. A total of 1,250 residents out of the approximately
300,000 in the district — which covers
areas including Bayside, College Point, Flushing and
Whitestone — responded to the survey.
Two-thirds of survey respondents said they felt
unsafe about the condition of the tree in front
of their home, according to Avella. Approximately
three-quarters of respondents indicated that their tree
is either overgrown, dangerous or needs removal.
Out of the respondents who said they made a
request with the city to remove a tree in front of their
home, 42 percent said they have been waiting five or
more years for removal.
Findings also revealed many constituents were
unaware of the city’s “Tree and Sidewalk Repair
Program,” the lawmaker noted. Announced in July
2017 during a press conference that Mayor Bill de
Blasio held in Whitestone, the program offers city
funding to certain homeowners who need to repair
severe sidewalk damage caused by the root growth
of street trees.
In the days following the conference, Avella was
openly critical of the program, which he said does
not go far enough to provide all homeowners relief.
The constituent survey conducted this year showed
that 71 percent of responding residents were unaware
of the program.
Avella said he now “has the numbers” to prove
that residents have safety concerns due to a “failed
job” by the city and the Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR).
“When 69 percent of people surveyed say that
their trees were not satisfactorily pruned, it is clear
as day that residents are not being listened to and are
certainly not having their concerns taken seriously
by this administration,” he said. “This is absolutely
unacceptable and clearly, it isn’t just me who feels
this way. We need the city to fix their approach to
these basic quality-of-life issues so that we can live
without the fear of a strong wind being able to knock
a tree onto our homes.”
Sam Biederman, a spokesperson for DPR, said
the department’s tree assessment protocol is aligned
with standards set by the International Society of
Arboriculture and the American National Standards
Institute.
“As the stewards of New York City’s urban forest,
we care for our city’s street and park trees and also
respond to more than 80,000 forestry-related service
requests from concerned New Yorkers each year,”
the spokesperson said. “To help keep our tree canopy
healthy and safe, we’re integrating modern tree risk
management practices into the way we care for our
urban forest.”
