Queens residents accused of illegally sawing down timber for views – NBC New York
A strolling path in a Queens park results in a number of clearings that should not exist, with some residents accused of illegally chopping down timber on the city-owned land — and gaining waterfront views from their yard within the course of.
The path by means of Powell’s Cove Park within the Faculty Level neighborhood gives lush foliage alongside the shore line. Or at the least it does till clearings that supply beautiful views of the Whitestone Bridge have began to pop up.
“This shouldn’t be like this. This needs to be very wooded,” mentioned Kathryn Cervino, of the Coastal Preservation Community.
Cervino’s group helps preserve the realm that belongs to the Metropolis of New York. Earlier in November, Cervino came upon contemporary stumps and a person with a noticed.
“I got here throughout someone with a noticed and a ladder, sawing the limbs off of timber and throwing them over on to the shoreline, which was horrifying,” she mentioned.
The home-owner was not house when visited by NBC New York. As a substitute, Manuel Rueda mentioned over the telephone that he used his noticed to chop away bamboo encroaching on his land and the inspiration of his house. He mentioned he contacted town at the least 4 instances, and after ready months he determined to take away the bamboo.
“I needed to do it for my land,” he advised Information 4 in Spanish.
Individuals who minimize down metropolis timber face a tremendous of as much as $15,000.
A fence exhibits the road between metropolis property and what belongs to the householders. Somebody even constructed a retaining wall on public land.
The NYC Parks Division says in recent times, it has observed extra trimming within the space. Up to now, nobody has been charged or fined, although the Parks Division added that individuals who reside within the space can anticipate extra patrols, because the injury to the timber was reported to the NYPD.
“Our timber are a significant useful resource and an unlimited worth to our metropolis,” a consultant for the Parks Division mentioned. “Damaging or destroying them is against the law and represents not solely a lack of pure assets however undermines the efforts of Parks employees and volunteers who take care of our outside areas.”
Cervino desires to see indicators notifying residents, together with replanting and accountability.
“It is changing into a state of affairs, I believe, the place one neighbor sees the following neighbor do it, and it is changing into form of OK to them. However, taking of any public land is against the law. You possibly can’t you’ll be able to’t simply redesign a park house even whether it is bordering your yard,” she mentioned.
