Earth Matters: The (environmental) crime on Main Street

The notices were nailed to the trees in July, but few people probably noticed them among the garage sale signs.

They were removal notices for 19 trees along just four blocks of Main Street in Port Washington that would be cut down as part of a new “Streetscapes Improvement” plan.

As background, the Town of North Hempstead has committed to spending approximately one million dollars to “improve” the four blocks of Main Street between Port Washington Boulevard and the train station. As part of project DPW 17-16, an international engineering and construction consulting firm that has major projects around the globe from their 100 worldwide offices, was contracted by the Town to evaluate the trees on Main Street.

Last week, tree crews from PSEG arrived to trim the trees around their electricity wires. Their tree butchers recklessly and thoughtlessly hacked away any branches that were close to their wires. Their “work”—which lacked any sense of aesthetic and ignored even the basic guidelines of pruning for the health and beauty of trees—was devastating to the look of our downtown. A giant “V” was carved into some of our most beautiful and mature trees. It was, and will remain, a horrific sight to see. But the real trouble had yet to begin.

The following day, crews from Asplundh arrived in orange trucks, and proceeded to remove what was left of some of our gorgeous and productive trees on Main Street. Residents driving or walking along Main Street were stunned to see the carnage. Many honked their horns or shouted at the workers, but they were just doing the job they were hired to do. And it was too late; the damage was done.

The removal of the trees by ASPLUNDH was recommended by the TONH’s consulting firm. Residents were told that a few of the trees were diseased; some presented a hazard; while others were lifting or interfering with sidewalks. Some existing trees, they said, were too close to signs or streetlamps. And the solution, in their view, was to take the offending trees down completely. They don’t live here in Port Washington, so it might have been easier for them to decide that some of our biggest trees had to go. But isn’t it easier to take steps that would preserve these trees, such as moving a sign or reconfiguring the sidewalk, rather than simply removing them completely?

We tend to take trees for granted. Yes, we like to park or walk or talk under the shade of a tree on Main Street, but we often forget that the trees work hard for us, pulling carbon dioxide out of the air, sequestering it in the ground, and giving off pure, fresh oxygen for us to breathe. Their shade keeps our streets and buildings cool, reducing the demand for energy. And they give our town an aesthetic that’s hard to put into words.

Not all trees are the same, of course. Small street trees can’t possibly contribute to reducing carbon dioxide and keeping our air clean the way a giant 70-foot oak can. It can take 40+ years for a tree to reach its full height and canopy maturity, as some of the trees on Main Street had done before they were cut down. We don’t want to see small street trees planted in place of oaks. It’s the canopy trees that a downtown (not to mention our planet) need.
In many ways, these trees were valuable members of our community; they provided a service and they deserved our respect. Instead, our tax dollars were used to cut them down.

Many citizens of Port Washington who know the value that trees bring to a community and care about their local natural environment are heartbroken, angry and discouraged. Why, in these early days of a climate crisis, are we looking down instead of up? Why wouldn’t we choose to keep a beautiful 70-year-old healthy oak tree and adjust the sidewalk instead? If we are truly thinking of sustainability and climate change mitigation, trees can help– ALOT! For example, stores along Main Street could now suffer mightily from unrelenting sun and heat, so air conditioning bills could skyrocket, causing more energy use in a time when we are begging people to install solar panels to reduce electricity use. Who was thinking of the consequences?

In addition to adjusting our sidewalks and signage, our town should consider the impact that its electric wires have on the aesthetic and ecological features of our town. Great Neck and other Long Island communities buried their electric wires so they could keep the shady canopy and their beautiful trees, making their downtowns inviting and comfortable spaces. We should consider similar solutions in the future.

We are left with a Main Street that is going to get some sidewalk and storm drain upgrades, but we have lost a piece of our town in these old trees that once provided both aesthetic and environmental benefits to all residents.