By Alex Costello
But those trees are starting to become a bit of a problem for the village.
"It's becoming more and more expensive for us to remove a lot of these trees that have been in the village that are deteriorating," said Island Park Mayor Jim Ruzicka. According to Ruzicka, the village spends tens of thousands of dollars a year removing trees.
So to combat the high price of maintaining trees, the village is passing off some of the burden to homeowners.
Passed by the Village Board at its regular meeting on Oct. 16, Local Law 7 of 2008, which should go into effect within a month, is an amendment to Ordinance 12, which is the village's old law regulating trees, shrubs, and hedges.
"We just went back over to that ordinance and amended some of it to give it a little more clarification," Ruzicka said. "This new law will say, OK, first of all you've got to get a permit to plant the tree. And from this point on, you're going to be responsible for that tree; totally responsible."
From now on, any tree a property owner plants in the area between their sidewalk and their curb is totally their responsibility. That means not only trimming back the branches so that they are no less than eight feet above the sidewalk, but also repairing any damage that is done by the tree.
The village is not completely passing off all the trees in the village to homeowners, however.
"We realize that the there are a lot of trees that the village has planted over the years that weren't with the consent of the homeowner, so we'll still be responsible for some of those trees," Ruzicka said. "We'll look at it on a case-by-case basis, naturally. But this more or less clarifies the law."
The village will, for the most part, take care of trimming back trees that go too low over the street. And if they need to remove an old tree, they will pay for that as well. However, any sidewalk that would be torn up in the process would be the homeowner's responsibility.
If a homeowner were to mix and pour the concrete for the sidewalk themselves, it wouldn't be too expensive. But to bring in a professional would cost some money. According to Marty Bevilacqua of Oceanville Mason Supply in Oceanside, it would cost about $7-$8 a square foot to break up and replace a sidewalk slab, which comes out to about $125 a slab.
And, in some cases, the tree removal would also fall on the homeowner, and that is an even more expensive project.
"Trimmings go anywhere from $375 on up to probably $1,200, depending on the type of tree," said Mike Slocum, owner of Mike's Complete Tree Service in Island Park. "Island Park has some decent-sized trees, especially going down Long Beach Road." Slocum also said that the removal of a tree starts at a base price of about $500, and goes up from there depending on the size of the tree, its location, any obstacles in the way, and other factors.
In addition to making maintenance the responsibility of the homeowner, the new law also requires homeowners to obtain permits to plant new trees or remove old ones. But there is no cost for a permit.
While it may seem that the new law is a slap in the face to homeowners, it is a policy that many other municipalities, including the Town of Hempstead and New York City, subscribe to. And for Island Park, it is less a new law and more a clarification and enforcement of an old law.
"What's over the street, usually the town takes care of," said Slocum. "Just to cut away so trucks can pass by and whatnot. When you're usually encroaching on houses, going the other way, are the homeowner's responsibility."
"It's kind of a catch-22 with the sidewalk," he added. "You don't own the sidewalk, but if someone trips up on your sidewalk, they can sue you."
Questions or comments about this story? ACostello@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
