Dangerous Tree in Front
I have a tree along the sidewalk directly in front of my house. I love this tree and remember it since youth. However the tree shows signs of having been invaded by beetles (there are small holes all over one side of it) also the root has pushed up the sidewalk about four inches over…
I have a tree along the sidewalk directly in front of my house. I love this tree and remember it since youth. However the tree shows signs of having been invaded by beetles (there are small holes all over one side of it) also the root has pushed up the sidewalk about four inches over the rest of the sidewalk. So I am concerned about two things. First that someone my hurt themselves on the sidewalk and also that I might be exposed to legal action since it is in front of my house and second that the sick tree might infect other trees nearby if it is indeed sick. Does anyone know if the home owner is responsible for an accident that might result from that branch pushing up the sidewalk. Also if I tell the city about the problem will I have to pay to correct the sidewalk or chop down the tree. I would hate to kill the tree because of the root pushing up the sidewalk. If the city kills the tree will they at least replace it with a new one just as grand in the same location?
Ok, I found the notice; you need to contact the USDA so they can check for Asian longhorn beetles. They look dark with small white spots, and can literally destroy all the maples, elms, birches, poplars, london planes in your neighborhood if allowed to go unchecked. The USDA will come and check at no charge, and if your tree is infected, it needs to be completely chipped.
IIRC the law was changed several years ago to make owners of 3+ family houses liable for sidewalk injuries but, in the cases of one and two family homes the City is still liable.
Call 311 for removal; the city will send a team, it may take a week though. Make sure to keep the reference number, so you can follow up. You might want to mention the beetle infestation, it’s probably a different responsibility, not local but Federal. I wish I could remember, they come check out the maple tree in my backyard every year. Hopefully the 311 operator will have the info. If it comes back to me, I will post the info.
The city will fix your sidewalk for free if the damage is caused by the tree. See the link below and call 311. Two houses on our block had this done recently, they got a brand new sidewalk for free. They also enlarged the tree pits, which is better for the trees. Also this summer we had all the trees on our block pruned by the city.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/trees_greenstreets/trees_sidewalks/trees_sidewalks.html
Maybe you could call a Citizen Pruner: http://www.treesny.org/about.html
AIG: The Secret’s Out (Again)
http://blogs.forbes.com/streettalk/2010/01/29/aig-the-secrets-out-again/
Goldman also got to sell $5.6 billion of the securities to the Fed fund set up to settle the swaps, basically being paid out at par, like all the other 15 counterparties. Many have called the November 2008 swaps settlement, orchestrated by the Fed, a back door bailout of the banks. The fact that the details about the deals was kept secret until now was also a gift to the banks, Tavakoli says. It gave interested parties “a window of opportunity to cover their tracks,” she notes in a recent commentary, “by dumping the worst of the assets, thus hiding them forever from public view.”
I believe the city will remove the tree but yes, you are liable for anyone’s injury and yes, you will have to bear the cost of the sidewalk repair.