Mansion House Meeting Buys Time for Tree
In the wake of the Mansion House’s co-op board’s controversial 5-2 vote to tear down an 80-year-old American Elm tree in the building’s front yard at 145 Hicks Street, a private meeting with shareholders was held last night. While the meeting in the basement of the building (where it had been moved to ensure that only residents could attendafter all, the New York Times was stationed outside) started with tensions running high (board members were none to happy about all the media attention the issue has received), civility won the day ultimately, according to a first-hand report. While not capitulating to some members’ calls to rescind the original vote, the board did agree to consider the majority’s wishes that all possible options to address the subterranean leaks being caused by the tree’s root system be fully explored before anything as drastic as a tear-down be resorted to. The board also trotted out the building’s lawyers to address the legal issues and potential impact of not removing the tree upon the building’s insurance rates. No word on when the board will report back to shareholders. Did we miss anything?
Historic Heights Co-op Planning Arboricide? [Brownstoner] GMAP