Tree removal

I had wondered, when first reading the Aug. 2 post "Should we cut down our big tree?", whether the tree was next to the stoop (i.e. in the areaway), or in front of the stoop (i.e. at curbside). I understand that the post above is somewhat different, and about a tree in a backyard. The only tree that *needs* taking down, is a tree that's diseased, dead or damaged, or otherwise presenting an obvious danger. Otherwise, it's the owner who *needs* a tree to be gone. Specifically when it comes to street trees, please be advised of this post by the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/trees_greenstreets/tree_damage_arborcide.html
Tree Damage and Arborcide
It is illegal and punishable by law for citizens to remove, kill, or damage a street or park tree, whether intentionally or accidentally.
No one is allowed to perform any work on a tree unless they are employed by Parks or are under a pruning or removal contract with Parks. Certified Citizen Pruners, who are trained to do light tree pruning by Trees New York, are authorized by the city to prune small branches that can be reached from the ground. Any Citizen Pruner who performs tree work outside of these guidelines is subject to arrest and fine.
Anyone caught removing or otherwise harming a tree should be reported immediately. Call 311 to notify an officer.
To have a damaged tree inspected, call 311.

Posted by: vinca at August 4, 2008 1:17 PM

Different evergreens have different growth patterns, and different pruning requirements. Serious damage can occur if pruned by someone who is not knowledgeable, at the wrong time of year, or in the wrong manner. It would be unlikely for most northeast evergreens of 50-ft. height (i.e., approx. 5 stories) to still have branches at eye-level. For example, there is a 50' cedar in our neighbor's yard. The lowest branch is no closer than 15' to the ground, the tree's diameter is no more than 3' at it's widest, and it casts barely a shadow compared to the 30-year-old dogwood in our backyard. In the yard behind us, there is a 60' honey locust which is beautiful, though constantly shedding and with branches draped into each neighbor's yard. CMU: the Parks Dept. ruling does not apply to backyards. I appreciate your suggestion about pruning. I also note that on any given day Brooklyn is at least 10 degrees cooler than Manhattan because of our street and backyard trees and vegetation--but not for long, judging from the number of posters seeking to eliminate trees for parking, pavement, and personal preference.

Posted by: vinca at August 4, 2008 2:35 PM

CMU: Though there was a recent thread about mulberries, I suspect from your post that your neighbor's trees were Ginkgos. The tree itself is considered a living fossil, with fan-shaped leaves that turn quite yellow in autumn. The female trees (yes, there are also males) drop particularly malodorous seeds in the fall (though the hard, rather than fleshy, part of the seed is used throughout Asian cuisine, and also revered in traditional medicine).

Posted by: vinca at August 4, 2008 6:34 PM

OP: It is not often that I am inspired to quote song lyrics, but for you, this exception (from Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi):
"…They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum. 
And they charged all the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em. 
Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone? 
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. …"

For better or worse, as owner you control your backyard. By the same token, for better or worse, you can't control the responses to your post. You only wanted comments that would help ballpark your eradication? Too bad. I wonder if you realize that most commenters to your post--some of them maybe even your across-the-fence neighbors--are replying with far more restraint than you will apply to your tree. What distinguishes you from previous renovators who thought their homes would be modernized and beautified once all remnants of architectural detail were removed? Nothing you've written indicates your tree is diseased or damaged. On the contrary, you wrote it blocks too much light, and takes up too much space. No matter what size your tree, it is hard to imagine it's trunk occupying much more than 9 square feet. What essential piece of furniture fits in that space that doesn't fit elsewhere? A table? A lawn chair? Some other manufactured design wonder that reached maturity in 50 hours or 50 days, and will be discarded in how many years?

I don't support name-calling, nor do I support the suggestion that a class at NYBG qualifies a poster to dismiss the wisdom of generations that came before. Not even 60 years ago, there were still farms in Brooklyn. Approx. 50 years ago, empty lots dotted the landscape of my Brooklyn childhood, also filled with Monarch butterflies, nighttime fireflies, and crayfish in the BBG's streams. The immigrants of earlier generations were hardly ignorant gardeners. That's why the backyards of Brooklyn are filled with fruit trees and grape arbors. Vegetable gardens and victory gardens sustained families from these same backyards and rooftops, long before green roofs and green walls became a necessary remedy to the destruction of green space. With no details on which to base your opinion, KG, to suggest that buzz-cutting an apparently healthy tree is a defensible antidote to the "ignorance" of the people who planted and cared for it, is an argument which is beyond the beyond.

Posted by: vinca at August 5, 2008 6:10 PM