Con Edison to Cut Trees on New Castle Street, Cites Public Safety
New Castle officials have been informed by Con Edison that the utility plans to remove seven trees on Taylor Road in the coming weeks because they are creating a serious public safety danger.
Town Administrator Jill Simon Shapiro told the town board last week that the Norway maples along the public right of way have been so compromised that there is the likelihood they could fall and knock out power lines in severe weather. She said these types of trees were not meant to be near the edge of a blacktop road.
Although residents and officials would prefer to save the trees, Shapiro said at the board’s Sept. 2 work session that from a liability standpoint the town has no alternative.
“I don’t think liability-wise, when Con Ed tells us it’s a public safety issue and our own arborist tells us it’s a public safety issue, that you have any choice in the matter,” she said.
The town plans to send out a letter of explanation to Taylor Road residents. Originally, Con Edison representatives told the municipality it wanted to do the work within the next week or two. However, Shapiro said the town has asked the tree removal to be delayed until later this month or early October so staff can properly notify the neighbors.
Last week the trees targeted for removal could be seen with orange tape around their trunks. Shapiro said the maples, which are now more than 80 years old, have been compromised by severe storms in recent years, a deteriorating root system and age. They also form a canopy over the road and power lines.
Supervisor Robert Greenstein said the letter that is being sent out will try to explain the full scope of the problem. The town, which must issue a removal permit for the work to be done, will ask Con Edison to avoid leaving half-cut stumps.
“We’ve been put on notice (that) it’s a dangerous situation,” Greenstein said. “We have to rectify it and we can’t have aesthetics over safety.”
Greenstein said he hasn’t been told whether additional trees will need to be removed, although that could be a possibility in the near future.
During Superstorm Sandy nearly two years ago, New Castle was one of the hardest-hit towns in Westchester, with more than 90 percent of the town losing power, in large part because of tree limbs falling on wires. Many customers were without electricity for one to two weeks.
Con Edison has previously raised the ire of residents and officials in neighboring communities with inadequate notification, particularly several years ago when it clear-cut trees beneath its transmission lines in Pleasantville and Mount Pleasant.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
