Trimming a city tree

I have a huge tree on the curb right outside my house- it hangs over huge leafy branches almost touching my building which means they cover the entire front yard area- a good 15 feet of coverage from where the trunk is on the curb to where the building is. Can I trim these back or not since this is a city tree? The branches completely shade my front yard and almost touch your head as your walk up the stoop. I wouldn’t take down anything huge, just manageable small branches.

yanks21

in Landscaping 13 years and 10 months ago

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brooklynbemused | 13 years and 10 months ago

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If you’re talking about limbs you can reach, I would just go ahead and do it. Even if the parks department noticed the change (which they won’t) how would they know it was you? You could cut off what you can reach for this summer and then make the request for them to prune it more substantially in the fall. (I posted this three times because it won’t accept my post. Apologies if it goes through three times eventually. It’s not that my comment is that important, just that I am irritated enough with the rejection to keep trying)

brooklynexpediter | 13 years and 10 months ago

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Parks department penalties for unauthorized work can be very very steep. Do not touch this tree by yourself without valid permit from parks dept.

jellydonut | 13 years and 10 months ago

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What you need is called a “citizen pruner”. somebody who is registered with the parks dept. to trim city trees. It is not a huge deal, you can call parks and ask for a list of citizen pruners- which, for the most part, are the same guys you would hire anyway. 311 may also solve your problem. I would not do it myself, parks dept. can be rabid!

Maly | 13 years and 10 months ago

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The technical answer is no. You are not supposed to trim city trees. You should call 311, advise them that the tree is touching your roof/blocking access for deliveries; the city will send a team to do the job.