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We're out on a limb (Long)



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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 4:57 pm
Many people in our neighborhood received summonses for having cracks in their sidewalks in front of their homes. We received letters from NYC instructing us to repair our sidewalk within a *timely* manner so as not to have to pay a fine. On the letter it says that it's illegal to cut any tree roots from city trees that are in front of our house and that if there is an issue with a tree interfering with having work done, then we're to contact the dep't of parks.

There's a huge, 65 year old tree that's directly in front of my neighbor's and my house. It's about 3 stories tall. Our neighbor contracted a private worker to repair their sidewalk. In the process of repairing it, the worker took out an electric saw and sliced off a major tree root right up to the tree trunk.The root is 2 feet in diameter. We were told by a knowledgable person that the tree is probably going to die within a year, and it's stability has been compromised. We were told that there's a danger of the tree falling down during a big storm. I googled it to see if this is correct. It is.
My dh and I are very concerned that the tree will eventually fall down on us/them/anyone else walking down the street.
He wants to talk to the neighbor and inform them that he's going to call the dep't of parks to have an expert evaluate the situation. Our neighbors are not so friendly and we don't know how to approach them. We know it's not their fault, it's the worker's fault for not having read the instructions on the summons. But we also know that they'll probably receive an exorbitant fine from the city and they'll probably blame us for having reported it.
What are we to do? We're afraid of the fallout and bad feelings from our neighbors but we're also afraid of bodily harm from the tree. How do we approach them? What should we say?

Btw, this is so so sad. This tree is so magnificently beautiful and had it's life cut short by a careless, incompetent worker. Sad
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imasinger




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 5:02 pm
Forgive me, but why is it necessary to call the neighbor and tell them? Can't you just call the department of parks and let them deal with it?
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 5:11 pm
I would not involve the neighbor but I would doubt the city is going to get involved because sadly it will go to the bottom of the pile.

Aside from the loss of a magnificent tree, I a, with your DH and would be concerned about the tree falling. Your house theoretically could be crushed if the tree fell.

I would call someone in my representative's office who is in charge of dealing with constituency issues and make sure they take care if it for you. You may have to be a bit of a rusty tea kettle but it's worth it.
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 5:20 pm
yes cut roots can be the main reason to fell a tree - you really have no choice but to ask the parks department to check on it for safety ... no it won't fall tomorrow unless there is a storm brewing ... oh wait there is

just leave the neighbors out of it ... the city should address them ... just make sure it's before the limb is out on you
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 6:08 pm
imasinger wrote:
Forgive me, but why is it necessary to call the neighbor and tell them? Can't you just call the department of parks and let them deal with it?

Out of respect for them. They'll figure it out that we're the ones that called the parks dept.
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amother
Ivory


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 6:14 pm
Hi Neighbor,

Just letting you know that a tree expert told us that the tree in front of our house is in danger of falling. We're going to be calling the Parks Department to cut it down.

I want you to be aware that the worker who repaired your part of the sidewalk might be responsible, he should not have chopped off a tree root.

Looking forward to sharing good news!

Your Neighbor
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animeme




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 6:25 pm
Please realize that there's a good chance the city would take the tree down anyway. They don't want anyone to mess with the roots exactly because of this, the destabilizilation. But repairing the sidewalk won't help much if the tree is still there with it's roots. Usually, when a city gets a block of sidewalks fixed, all the big trees come down.

So yes, deal with the safety issue, but don't blame the neighbors for there not being a magnificent tree there anymore
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amother
Aquamarine


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 6:31 pm
amother wrote:
Hi Neighbor,

Just letting you know that a tree expert told us that the tree in front of our house is in danger of falling. We're going to be calling the Parks Department to cut it down.

This is just right. I'd leave the rest out. It has nothing to do with you, it's between the city and your neighbor.
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 6:57 pm
animeme wrote:
Please realize that there's a good chance the city would take the tree down anyway. They don't want anyone to mess with the roots exactly because of this, the destabilizilation. But repairing the sidewalk won't help much if the tree is still there with it's roots. Usually, when a city gets a block of sidewalks fixed, all the big trees come down.

So yes, deal with the safety issue, but don't blame the neighbors for there not being a magnificent tree there anymore

I'm not blaming my neighbor. I'm blaming the worker that did it.
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animeme




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 8:27 pm
amother wrote:
I'm not blaming my neighbor. I'm blaming the worker that did it.


Fair enough. But either way, it was likely coming down anyway because of the sidewalks being fixed.
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amother
Beige


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 8:30 pm
Report it to the parks department immediately!
I had a neighbor that reported a tree to the parks department. They said they'll come evaluate and take care of it. They didn't come. A few months later the tree fell on someones car. Bh it was only a car and not worse!
Anyway, the car insurance was refusing to pay the claim because it was deemed an act of nature. However, after much back and forth they were able to prove that the tree had been reported to the parks department but they ignored the claim. The car insurance finally agreed to pay for the damage.
If it's reported and causes damage you'll be covered. If it's not reported you may not be covered.
Also theres no other way to get it taken care of because in NYC it's illegal to cut a tree on a city street. And you don't want someone to get hurt chv.
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 9:42 pm
animeme wrote:
Fair enough. But either way, it was likely coming down anyway because of the sidewalks being fixed.

What's so upsetting is that all the trees on my street are healthy, to the best of my knowledge. None of the trees are supposed to be coming down. It's the norm for all of these old trees to have huge roots protruding above the ground. It's been like this for as long as I can remember, and the trees were flourishing beautifully. All the concrete sidewalks are built around the roots. The sidewalks have to accommodate the trees' needs. No one is supposed to cut off roots to accommodate the sidewalk.

We also had to replace a sidewalk square because of a crack. Our contractor was meticulously careful not to disturb the root that was protruding above the ground on our side of the property line. He's actually the one who pointed out how illegal and terrible it was for our neighbor's worker to slice off the root.
Let this be a kipporah.
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 9:52 pm
amother wrote:
Report it to the parks department immediately!
I had a neighbor that reported a tree to the parks department. They said they'll come evaluate and take care of it. They didn't come. A few months later the tree fell on someones car. Bh it was only a car and not worse!
Anyway, the car insurance was refusing to pay the claim because it was deemed an act of nature. However, after much back and forth they were able to prove that the tree had been reported to the parks department but they ignored the claim. The car insurance finally agreed to pay for the damage.
If it's reported and causes damage you'll be covered. If it's not reported you may not be covered.
Also theres no other way to get it taken care of because in NYC it's illegal to cut a tree on a city street. And you don't want someone to get hurt chv.

I'm going to go to our local councilman to discuss this matter, after reading about all the bureaucracy that I'm going to encounter.
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rowo




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 10:25 pm
I live on the other side of the world, so can't really give advice. But I also get so sad when big beautiful old trees get chopped down.
Also, you have to repair the sidewalk?? what?
How is that the responsibility of individuals? Each person takes care of the concrete outside their house?
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 11:12 pm
rowo wrote:
I live on the other side of the world, so can't really give advice. But I also get so sad when big beautiful old trees get chopped down.
Also, you have to repair the sidewalk?? what?
How is that the responsibility of individuals? Each person takes care of the concrete outside their house?

Yup.That is a way for the city to make $$$. Each person is responsible for the maintenance of the sidewalk in front of their house. And it's for that reason, that the sidewalks are not uniform. Different houses have different shades of grey concrete.
I'm going to miss my old tree(and the birdies that make their home there).
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cm




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 11:23 pm
rowo wrote:
I live on the other side of the world, so can't really give advice. But I also get so sad when big beautiful old trees get chopped down.
Also, you have to repair the sidewalk?? what?
How is that the responsibility of individuals? Each person takes care of the concrete outside their house?


It varies from one city to another.

Where I live, the homeowner owns the sidewalk and is required to maintain it, or risk citation (or litigation, in case of injury related to poorly-maintained sidewalks).

The municipality owns the trees planted in the grassy strip between the sidewalk and street which are often responsible for pushing up the sidewalk.

The thing to do is to have your sidewalk contractor lift the broken area, then the municipality will grind down the now-exposed roots. Homeowners or their contractors are not permitted to do anything to those trees. If they need to be pruned or replaced, the town takes care of it.

In some other cities, the municipality maintains the sidewalks.
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familyfirst




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Sep 04 2016, 11:52 pm
No advice about the neighbors, the red tape or the side walks. Just hugs. You sound really sad to lose your tree.
So sorry:(
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amother
Amethyst


 

Post Mon, Sep 05 2016, 12:02 am
familyfirst wrote:
No advice about the neighbors, the red tape or the side walks. Just hugs. You sound really sad to lose your tree.
So sorry:(

Thank you for your kind words.
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