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December 21, 2006
Beware the Wrath of the Tree Roots
This scene on Washington Avenue is a reminder of how powerfully destructive tree roots can be. In this case, the victim was a huge chunk of bluestone; in others, it can be old clay pipes getting strangled to death. Wonder if they thought about the consequences when these were planted over a century ago.
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Comments
Yes, they do do damage, but with so little green space in the City, street trees are essential!
Perhaps a bit of maintenance may have prevented this. That and the way they are planted these days are a bit more accommodating for growth.
Posted by: lostinbrooklyn at December 21, 2006 11:08 AM
Old clay pipes are exactly that, old and made out of a brittle substance, and so should perhaps be replaced with less-crumbly varieties of infrastructure.
Let's have landscape architects and the city work to minimize the negative impacts of a glorious tree canopy. And while I like bluestone as much as if not more than the next person, I'm going to root for the sycamore over the sidewalk every time.
Posted by: DC at December 21, 2006 11:21 AM
The Parks Department recently enlarged the size of the standard tree pit from 5'x 5' to 5' x 8' if the sidewalk width permit it. Larger pits mean healthier few uprooted sidewalks and less stormwater runoff into the city's anitquated combined sewer system.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 11:29 AM
What does a homeowner do if they are faced with the above situation. I have a tree in front of my house that is pushing up my bluestone sidewalk. The roots are even causing a bulge in the street.
Am I totally responsible for fixing this or does the city share in the responsiblity?
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 11:33 AM
NIMBYs now want to preserve all trees. So what if they choke of sewers
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 11:45 AM
The homeowner is responsible, but the mayor has "sidewalk assistance program" which pay for some of the work. Request more information using the 311 system.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 11:49 AM
NIMBYs don't like functioning sewers?
I think not.
Cut the trees dowon in your backyard. Leave mine alone.
Posted by: treehugger at December 21, 2006 11:51 AM
Anon 11:45
Huh? Another troll throwing around the "NIMBY" cards...I don't get your point?
Anon 11:33
You are responsible for your sidewalk (from your property line to the street, depending on the sidewalk lean), the City for the tree and street. Not sure if your part includes the curb...
Posted by: lostinbrooklyn at December 21, 2006 11:51 AM
Timely; I just tripped over that tree on my way to the G Train yesterday morn.
I hope the homeowners don't replace the bluestone with badly poured concrete!
Posted by: ANP at December 21, 2006 11:54 AM
I just dealt with that in front of our home--so no nimby here--and as much as I value the bluestone sidewalks we opted to pull part of ours up because the trees were more important and this would only keep happening. You can have an arborist come in and prune the roots, and then you can re-lay the stone, but you need someone who knows what they're doing or you can kill the tree. The true danger is that if someone comes along and trips and falls it's the homeowner that gets sued. In a perfect word I'd keep both of course.
Posted by: combustiblegirl at December 21, 2006 11:54 AM
You can contact the Parks department. They will shave the roots at no cost. They done that on our street a few years ago. The trees do not die because of it.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 12:40 PM
If I didn't know better brownstoner, I'd swear you throw out these things just to bait us... you can't seriously be against street trees, can you?
Posted by: SeamusMacD at December 21, 2006 12:43 PM
Hey ANP, 11:54. Was this on Java Street? Could be my house. We need to do something. We will definitely preserve the blue stone. Somehow.
I also agree that B'stoner is either a great manipulative moderator with this kind of annoying post, or else (more likely) he's the FAR hugging, tree-phobic capitalist we know him to be.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 12:54 PM
That is the problem we run into when a tree grows in Brooklyn...yeah I went there.
Posted by: KLopez at December 21, 2006 1:38 PM
12:40 is correct; root cuttings can be arranged for free from the parks department, although the owner is responsible for opening the sidewalk.
the posts stating that the owner is solely responsible for repairing the sidewalk is only partially correct. For details, see: http://tinyurl.com/y768a4
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 1:53 PM
No, no, not in the slightest! Just making an observation as someone who's newly renovated house was flooded because our waste line--which happens to run under a big tree out front--collapsed...The huge old trees are one of the great things about Clinton Hill.
Posted by: Brownstoner at December 21, 2006 4:05 PM
The original blue stone sidewalks were placed exactly to easily take care of the growing trees. You would pull up the blue stone, shave the roots and replace the stone....can't do that with cement. And by the way NYC has the most greenspace of any city in the country...San Francisco is second I believe.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 5:58 PM
For anyone not in a landmarked area who's looking for a tree-friendly sidewalk that's also viewed kindly by insurance agencies: check out www.rubbersidewalks.com. I came across this site recently while debating the fate of my crumbling concrete sidewalk upstate, and think I may go for it. What's not to like? The stuff is recycled, not terrible to look at, cushioned, long lasting, can be removed and replaced to get at piping...and take a look at the way roots grow under the slabs.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 7:42 PM
I had a neighbor years ago who cut down a huge beautiful old tree in front of his house because its roots were buckling the sidewalks. This was in Southern CA. And the buckling was so slight. Not worth losing the tree. He didn't even try to trim back the roots, either. It sickened me to see a perfectly healthy, 80 year old tree cut down like that. But sure enough come Summer the idiot neighbor was complaining how hot his house was, and expensive to cool it. DUH!! He cut down his shade tree! What did he think trees were for? Anyone who disdains trees as merely decorative (or something political) is an moron.
Posted by: Anonymous at December 21, 2006 11:49 PM
Did brownstoner really put up this article or has the site been hacked?
Really, it doesn't bear further comment, its just silly.
Posted by: loser at December 22, 2006 9:12 AM
We just got a violation for tree roots pushing up the sidewalk...on order for us to fix it, the slip says we have to take out a work permit from the DOB than coordinate with the Parks Dept to shave the roots than get a certified contractor out to fix and finally get the city back to re-inspect..way too labor intensive, or you can just wait it out till the city fixes it and you get the bill
Posted by: Anonymous at December 22, 2006 9:13 AM
I am dealing with this issue currently in a landmarked sidewalk, after meeting with an arborist, i found out that the parks dept. usually doesn't need to "ask for permission" from the dept of Transportation to enlarge a tree bed thus allowing the roots to "relax", with some coordination you can have a contractor to open the side walk for the Parks to come and look at it, shave the roots and in the future if anything were to happen they are liable not the owner.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 29, 2007 2:54 PM
I am dealing with this issue currently in a landmarked sidewalk, after meeting with an arborist, i found out that the parks dept. usually doesn't need to "ask for permission" from the dept of Transportation to enlarge a tree bed thus allowing the roots to "relax", with some coordination you can have a contractor to open the side walk for the Parks to come and look at it, shave the roots and in the future if anything were to happen they are liable not the owner.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 29, 2007 2:55 PM
I am dealing with this issue currently in a landmarked sidewalk, after meeting with an arborist, i found out that the parks dept. usually doesn't need to "ask for permission" from the dept of Transportation to enlarge a tree bed thus allowing the roots to "relax", with some coordination you can have a contractor to open the side walk for the Parks to come and look at it, shave the roots and in the future if anything were to happen they are liable not the owner.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 29, 2007 2:57 PM
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