Funny. I called that exact telephone number about a month ago. There is a tree about 80 feet tall across the street from me that's pitched at about a 40 degree angle, poised to fall directly on top of my house come the next good snow storm. This tree hasn't been trimmed in YEARS. There are limbs 60 feet long (no kidding), just begging to snap off and fall on top of a car/house/person once they get weighted down with wet snow. Aside from the extremely long limbs, the whole tree is leaning so far over it's buckled the sidewalk and people have had to have new concrete poured last year. It's a disaster waiting to happen. Trust me.

They were quick to give me 75 reasons (well, actually, the same reason, 75 times) why nothing could be done. They said that the person who has the tree in front of their house has to call. They won't respond to a tree trim request or tree removal request unless you're the property owner.

When I asked them if the person owns the actual tree, they said no. When I asked why anyone else couldn't request a trimming, she didn't have an answer except to say, "That's the procedure, sir."

When I asked them what I should do when the tree falls on top of my house some day, she once again said, "Sorry, sir, that's the procedure. The home owner has to call." I said, "Yeah, but the tree isn't going to fall on top of his house. It's leaning toward mine. He has no reason to call. He's not worried about it."

Again, with the same witty response, "Sorry, sir. That's the procedure."

Overall, I found the experience to be extremely rewarding and enlightening. Two thumbs up for the Forestry Dept. from me. I think they're an extremely hard working bunch. Especially the lady who answers the phone. Couldn't have been a more lovely person.

By the way - whose brilliant idea was it to plant trees that grow to huge sizes in a city that has water / sewer / gas lines under them, and electric wires above them, and houses all around them?

JC planning at it's finest. I know it was probably a long time ago, but still... you know trees have roots, and you know there are going to be water pipes and electrical lines. Meh... whatever. Who cares. Maybe I take life too seriously.

Quote:

Underground electrical cables have their own issues. Much harder to repair when there is a problem (remember when a huge chunk of Astoria was without power for a week in 100-degree heat? The crews could only work in short shifts underground because of the unbearable heat). Just think of all the kvetching about closed streets and loss of parking spaces on JC List when they have to dig up a street to repair power lines!

Maybe its probably time for underground utilities like real cities.

A leafy threat: Trees growing into power lines

Friday, November 07, 2008
By TOM SHORTELL
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Several thick-branched, flowering pear trees dot York Street in Downtown Jersey City and they are making at least one homeowner very nervous.

Down the block from Anne Barry, wind gusts from the Oct. 27 storm sheared branches off a tree. Entangled with power lines, when the branches went down they took the power lines with them and caused a building to catch fire across the street.

"It's a catastrophe waiting to happen," said Anne Barry, pointing to the pear tree branches in front of her house that weave in and out of power lines. "If a tree goes down, it affects the whole neighborhood."

Jersey City Fire Director Armando Roman acknowledges the danger.

"It certainly can be dangerous," he said. "You have a big rainstorm and the trees get heavy, then a wind storm and there is a possibility the branches will snap."

Barry said it took three days of phoning to the city's Division of Parks and Forestry to schedule an appointment to get the pear tree by her house scheduled for a trim this month. The division, which has a staff of eight, cares for thousands of trees in Jersey City.

"The last count was like 74,000 trees," said Rodney Hadley, the division's director. For bigger jobs like tree removals, contractors are sometimes hired, he said.

Roman would like to see all the trees trimmed, too, but the reality is that there's not enough workers to get to them all.

"Even just from a standpoint of monitoring which trees need the most trimming, that is colossal job," he said.

Residents can report trees they think need cutting on weekdays, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The trees are inspected within a week, and if it's agreed they need trimming, the work is done within two to three weeks, officials said.

Many of the trees in the city are aging sycamores, so the schedule could get even more packed in the coming years. "We will be busier than normal," Hadley said.

Hadley did not know how many power outages in the city have been due to downed trees or tree branches, and Public Service Electric & Gas didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

To contact the Division of Parks and Forestry call 201-547-4449.