Tree Maintenance Is Leading Bd 1 Issue
BY RICHARD GENTILVISO

New York City intends to plant a million trees during the next 10 years. The initiative is one of 127 announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Earth Day. Providing shade and the ability to process harmful carbon dioxide, the additional trees are largely good news.

But what happens after the trees are planted and begin to grow and mature? "The most important issue we are facing in this community is tree maintenance," Community Board 1 District Manager George Delis said at the board's May meeting.

"A lot of homeowners don't want trees because root systems break sidewalks," he said. But Delis had some good news too. A new pilot program funded by the mayor and the borough presidents of Queens, Staten Island and The Bronx is aiming to fix the problem.

The Trees & Sidewalks Program, run by the Department of Parks and Recreation, is now helping homeowners by repairing sidewalks that are damaged by curbside trees. Sidewalk repairs will be done at no cost to the homeowner and in a way that strengthens the sidewalk while minimizing damage to tree roots.

Homeowners in one-, two-, and threefamily homes (NYC Tax Class 1) are eligible for the program. "If you have a problem, call 311," Delis said. "Ask for The Trees & Sidewalks Program. An inspector from the Department of Parks will rate the damage and leave you with an inspection report."

Sidewalks are evaluated based on the amount of vertical lift. "Sidewalks must be up 1 inch or above," Delis said. Narrow sidewalks will also be given priority over wider ones and the amount of usage is also considered. Sidewalks with a high volume of pedestrian traffic will be scored higher than areas with less use.

As a pilot program with limited funding, about $4 million this year, according to Matthew Wells, program manager for Trees & Sidewalks, only a small percentage of the total number of problems will be corrected. Homeowners can still fix their sidewalks themselves by obtaining a free permit from the Department of Parks.

"The mayor appropriates money for tree repair, but nothing approaching the amount of money he has appropriated for tree planting, Delis said. "We are very backlogged on tree removal, tree pruning, and stump removal."

The Parks Department has jurisdiction over the almost 500,000 existing street trees in the city. Queens has the most street trees citywide, 239,882 trees.

In other business, owners of unenclosed sidewalk cafes continued to apply for and renew applications permitting operation in the warmer weather. Board Member Julian Wager said the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) lists 43 licensed cafes in Board 1.

But Wager suspects there are more and wants to conduct a survey. "I think something should be done about it," he said.

The board approved new applications for Spiro Corp. at 35-02 30th Ave. (23 tables, 45 seats) and CUP at 36-02 35th Ave. (29 tables, 88 seats). A renewal was given to Bar Moheco at 32-90 36th St. (11 tables, 26 seats) and a modification was granted to FLO at 37-20 30th Ave. (36 tables, 72 seats).

The board declined to renew an application for New Plaka Cafe at 34-02 Broadway (19 tables, 38 seats) after it was found that the premises was operating under the name Tre illegally. In addition, at least one violation for underage drinking and felony assault were noted by Inspector Brain McCarthy, commanding officer of the 114th Police Precinct.