- May
- 21
Orange & Rockland plans to visit Blauvelt homeowner Maureen O’Neill today, but this time the visit will be welcome.
O’Neill was one of many residents who protested when O&R cut down trees in her backyard as part of a tree removal program meant to prevent power outages. Residents complained that more trees were cut that necessary and that O&R’s hired crews left a mess of stumps and debris behind.
O&R reached out to O’Neill after hearing her concerns and agreed to replace the lost trees with what they call compatible species, which are basically trees that won’t grow too high. An O&R arborist will visit O’Neill today and walk though the backyard to go over the plans for replanting.
“Fair is fair,” O’Neill said yesterday. “They’re trying to do the right thing.”
Posted by Hannan Adely on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 1:51 pm |
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- April
- 29
Maureen O’Neill didn’t consider herself an environmentalist and kept out of public affairs until about a month ago, when a group of trees were cut in her backyard. Since then she’s been one of the key residents who have railed against Orange and Rockland Utilities’ tree removal program.
It’s been that kind of issue. The tree cutting program is one of those hot-button topics that comes along once in a while and really rivets a community and gets people to organize, write letters and call the newspaper. I’ve been getting calls from residents for the past several weeks.
Case in point: Last night 100 people filled a room at Orangetown Town Hall trying to get their voices heard at a community forum about the tree cutting. The crowd was so big it spilled out into the hall. Here is the related story.
Posted by Hannan Adely on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 6:39 pm |
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- April
- 22
Marvin Baum believes congratulations are not in order. Browsing through Orange & Rockland’s press releases, the Valley Cottage resident learned that The National Arbor Day Foundation named the company a “Tree Line USA Utility” in January. The designation recognizes national leadership in caring for trees while meeting service objectives.
In a letter to O&R, Baum — who has been protesting O&R’s tree-removal program — wrote: “This truly would have been funny, had your company not already caused so much suffering and pain to the people of Rockland County with its new ‘scorched earth’ tree-cutting program.”
O&R says it is following a 2005 state mandate requiring them to remove trees that could threaten transmission lines and lead to power outages. Read more of this entry »
Posted by Hannan Adely on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 6:06 pm |
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- April
- 17
Representatives from the state’s Public Service Commission are coming to Rockland County to talk about a controversial tree-removal program that has upset many local homeowners. (See posts below.) The event is sponsored by State Sen. Thomas Morahan and assembly members Ellen Jaffee and Ken Zebrowski.
The community forum takes place Monday, April 28, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Orangetown Town Hall, 26 Orangeburg Road.
Here’s who is coming from the PSC: Howard Tarler, Chief of Electric/Gas Transmission; James Austin, Chief of Environmental Certification; and David Morrell, from the Environmental Compliance unit. Officials from Orange and Rockland Utilities will also be on-hand to answer questions. The public is invited to attend.
Posted by Hannan Adely on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 6:12 pm |
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- April
- 15
Responding to complaints from dozens of homeowners about a tree-clearing program, the Orangetown Town Board took action last night. The board passed a resolution asking the state’s Public Service Commission to stop removing trees from transmission right-of ways until there is a full public review of the program. The board also asks Orange & Rockland Utilities to provide a restitution plan, remove tree debris left after clear cutting, and to replace trees with more compatible species.
Clarkstown and the Rockland County Legislature are expected to pass similar measures tonight.
Here is the full resolution passed by the Orangetown board: Read more of this entry »
Posted by Hannan Adely on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 6:17 pm |
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- April
- 11
Posted by Amy Padnani on Friday, April 11th, 2008 at 8:05 am |
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- April
- 10
Some of you might remember how several residents on a Congers street were fuming when they found out that Orange and Rockland Utilities planned to remove 50 to 70 trees in their neighborhood. I wrote about it last summer and staff writer Hannan Adely recently wrote about similar issues in Orangetown and Clarkstown:
Trees come down; homeowners not happy
Residents have two more weeks to fight tree clearing
You can also check out a video of a recent protest in Blauvelt here.
Now that the issue has resurfaced, Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack said he plans to reach out to the state Public Service Commission again to ask them to reconsider the tree removal policy. He also said he wrote a letter today to Gov. David Paterson seeking his support.
Gromack said in a statement: “While we work to preserve open space, the PSC mandates the destruction of trees. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Last summer, Gromack wrote to the PSC when he found out that hundreds of trees were slated for removal. He asked the state to revert back to the tree trimming policy they instituted prior to the blackout in 2003, which was caused when a tree fell on transmission wires in Ohio. The state never responded. We’ll have to see what happens this time.
Posted by Amy Padnani on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 6:24 pm |
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- April
- 10
Unhappy homeowners are calling and writing The Journal News to complain about chainsaw-wielding crews clearing their backyards.
Their gripe — Orange and Rockland’s hired crews clear-cut through a number of backyards, leaving tree stumps and tree debris in their wake. Not pretty.
In its defense, O&R was only doing what it was supposed to do. In 2005, the state Public Service Commission ordered utilities to clear 100-foot swaths of land around transmission lines to prevent power outages.
Homeowners say the PSC overreacted and now they, and the trees, are suffering. (See photo on right, taken at a Blauvelt home by Peter Carr.)
Residents and elected officials are now taking their fight to the state. The Rockland County Legislature and the Clarkstown Town Board and its supervisor will consider resolutions on Tuesday protesting the clear cutting of trees along tranmission lines and asking the state to reconsider. Meanwhile, residents are also starting to file complaints with the state agency.
Posted by Hannan Adely on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 6:11 pm |
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