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Buffalo resumes cutting damaged trees: Arborists to guarantee they aren't savable

Published in: Buffalo News
Date: 11/2/2006
By: Brian Meyer

Buffalo has resumed cutting trees severely damaged by the October storm, but its public works chief gave assurances Wednesday that only trees deemed by arborists to be unsavable will be chopped down. The Common Council has raised concerns that out-of-state contractors hired by the city may have cut some trees last week that could have recovered. Lawmakers passed a resolution Tuesday demanding to know what safeguards are being taken to avoid unnecessary removal of trees.

Council President David A. Franczyk said his office received a dozen calls last week from residents of South Buffalo, the West Side and the Fillmore neighborhood complaining about tree cutting. Some were "practically crying," Franczyk said. "I'm pretty sure they chopped down some trees that didn't have to come down," Franczyk said. "Maybe not thousands or even hundreds of trees, but I think there were some." But Public Works Commissioner Joseph N. Giambra disagreed.

"I haven't found any evidence that this is the case," he said. "Oftentimes, if you're standing down on a sidewalk looking up, a tree might look fine. But when you're up in a bucket [truck], you can see the damage." Giambra said the city is following a strict process that requires a professional arborist to make all determinations about which trees should be cut. He said there's even a paper trail to verify and document each tree removal. The city has hired two arborists and is also being assisted by tree experts from Rochester and some volunteers. Friday, Mayor Byron W. Brown ordered a halt to tree cutting. Giambra said the brief moratorium was imposed to make sure proper procedures were being followed. After reviewing the situation, Giambra said, officials were confident the system was working, and tree cutting resumed Monday. He estimated about 1,000 trees have been taken down since the October snowstorm. South Buffalo resident Robert Kent said dozens of trees were cut down last week in his neighborhood around Portland Street and Cumberland Avenue. He's convinced that some of them could have been saved. "I was shocked. I couldn't believe they cut down the number of trees they did," Kent said. Giambra reiterated that tree damage isn't always visible to untrained eyes, especially at street level. He added that he doesn't know of any trees that were improperly cut down last week. Giambra added that some residents have been imploring the city to cut down trees. In one instance, a woman asked a subcontractor from Rhode Island to remove a tree that wasn't deemed unsavable. Giambra said the contractor cut it after the woman agreed to pay him $300. The subcontractor was fired, Giambra said. e-mail: bmeyer@buffnews.com

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