Shaved roots

The first picture is a locust tree in Morningside Road taken less than 2 months ago, full of new growth. The second one is from a Morningside Road resident, he sent it to me yesterday in the afternoon. His e-mail said:

Tree just came down on a house on Morningside! Cops here now. No roots on the street side!

The tree that came down is the same locust tree, it was located between Lakeside Avenue and South Prospect Street, where contractors just finished street construction. It strikes me how intact and perfectly straight the recently installed Belgium blocks are, still after the tree came down.

Acording to Wikipedia:

Despite its name, Honey locust is not a significant honey plant. The name derives from the sweet taste of the legume pulp, which was used for food by Native American people, and can also be fermented to make beer...A Native American legend is that the Thunder Spirit recognized his son by his ability to sit comfortably on locust branches, despite the thorns...It tolerates urban conditions, compacted soil, road salt, alkaline soil, heat and drought.

I showed the pictures to the director of the New Jersey Tree Foundation. In her opinion the roots were shaved which is likely the reason the tree came down. There were no roots on the street-side of the tree to anchor it; trees that have root damage don't need a big storm or strong winds to bring it down, she explained.

This was a close call, fortunately nobody was harmed. Cutting the roots of a tree is dangerous; it should be avoided or done only under the supervision of an arborist.

Local newspapers

The following are letters and news recently published in our local newspapers, including some practical environmental tips. Complete versions are available on-line by clicking the title/link:

Letter to the editor: Help Protect Verona’s trees
By Verona resident Lydia Bashwiner

Regarding Verona’s street trees, residents are the first line of defense against damage by construction and overhead wire work. Here are four steps that you can take: Know the rules. Verona’s ordinance prohibits any action regarding such trees without the permission of the Shade Tree Commission. Contractors are expressly prohibited from damaging any part of a tree with their equipment. Residents can report improper pruning by utility companies. State law imposes fines up to $1,500 for violations...

Laning Avenue School in Verona gets greener with help from Whole Foods

Laning SCA members Michelle Posner, Jackie Yarmo, Whole Foods employees Susan Cozza and Gerry Giannetti, and Laning SCA member Virginia Citrano planted a variety of flowers around the PIP entrance of Laning Avenue School on July 1.

Shimonaski: Cut water bills
The writer is chairman of the Verona Environmental Commission.

Want to water your lawn and garden this summer without running up a big water bill? Think about using a rain barrel.
When you connect a rain barrel to your downspout, you can capture all the rain that falls on your house and save it to water the yard later. One big storm can put 100 gallons of water in your barrel!

Flemington ordinance protects 'historic' trees
By Veronica Slaght

To preserve Flemington's "historic" trees, the council adopted a tree preservation ordinance last week. The borough's big trees will get municipal protection after they are put on a list by the Shade Tree Commission.

Council meeting feedback

These are some of the topics discussed last night, July 20th, at Town Hall:

• Mayor Teena Schwartz informed that workshops about public trees and quality of life in Verona are being organized. More information will be available soon. The Mayor gave forestry program brochures to Councilmember Jay Sniatkowski, liaison with the Shade Tree Commission -for their review.

• Town Manager Joe Martin talked about last weekend's festival in Verona Park which was a success and the pedestrian counting –over 800- in Lakeside Ave. corner with Hillside Ave. will increase the possibility of having a traffic light installed there. The Town Manager also reported that a member of the Shade Tree Commission will inspect trees with staff from the utility company before PSE&G prunes any public tree. And that all street projects are presently on time and on budget.

• Regarding the private Bloomfield Ave. vacant lot located in front of the Community Center, councilmembers were informed that it is up to them to keep or change its classification. Currently the lot has a lot of trees and it is for residential use only; but could be develop for mixed-use if councilmembers act upon it. On behalf of neighbors in the area a resident expressed that they will be more than happy if the property continues being only for residential use.

• Recently elected Councilmember Bob Manley informed that he is very impressed after touring all Verona facilities and Hilltop development. Mr. Manley also expressed that he is proud of the amount of open green space that the town and volunteers managed to protect and preserve in Verona.

• Councilmember Ken McKenna suggested that the Town Engineer looks into reducing the existing gaps between fences and containers in the recycle center so materials don’t fall there, or install a garbage shoot to aid in such matters.

• Councilmembers also recommended to consider the use of pervious concrete pavement.

The use of pervious concrete is among the Best Management Practices (BMPs) recommended by the EPA -and by other agencies and geotechnical engineers across the country- for the management of stormwater runoff on a regional and local basis.

• Resident Christopher Bujnowski presented a petition signed by 25 families to request a crossing guard on Peace Avenue. He pointed out that more than 40 kids need assistance crossing that intersection that also lacks sidewalks. Many parents drive their kids to school just because it is not safe to cross that street.

• Verona Environmental Commission Chairman, Gerard Shimonaski, requested a “Please no Idling” sign to be installed at Forest Avenue School, the only elementary school in town without such a sign. He also presented a new VEC brochure regarding the benefits of minimizing idling and mentioned that the VEC is finishing a Power Point presentation in the matter.

• Resident Stephen Machnowski suggested the expansion and inclusion of the Shade Tree Commission annual report in the township’s website as well as posting a contact e-mail address.

• Councilmember Sniatkowski mentioned that information and a contact e-mail for each of the Standing Boards, Committees, and Commissions will be added to the township website. Currently, from the 14 listed groups, only the Environmental Commission and the Public Safety Committee have such information on-line.

• Resident Dominick Balestro pointed out that he and his wife had been sending correspondence to the Verona Mayor and Shade Tree Commission since the year 2000 regarding the multiple tree removals and lack of tree replacements without getting answers. Councilmember Jay Sniatkowski ansewered that the Council is currently taking care of those matters.

• Morningside Resident Ellen Kramer asked what is the time frame and variety of trees that will be planted in Morningside as well as the promised feedback about public trees. Town Manager Joe Martin responded that the main point in the “No Net Tree Loss” petition is taken care of by currently enforcing that policy.

• Town Engineer Jim Helb added that a high amount of Morningside residents requested tree replacements and the trees will be planted soon. Mayor Teena Schwartz added that a variety of maple trees will be chosen to avoid monoculture. The trees will have a bigger caliber, reaching 15 feet in high and 2 inches in diameter.

• I also supported a “Please No Idling” sign at Forest Avenue School to remind drivers. And asked if the total number of trees removed versus trees planted annually in Verona could be disclosed. The Town Manager responded that after gathering such data that information will be included in future reports.

• Resident Edward Kramer asked if the service walks are going to be removed (slabs of concrete installed over the grass area in front of homes). The Town Engineer answered that 6 of the recently installed slabs were removed already in Morningside Rd. due to resident’s requests. Other 3 slabs will be removed in that street. He added that the town will continue installing service walks and that the residents can keep requesting the removal of those slabs.

I would like to suggest if those service roads could be installed upon resident request only, to avoid wasting taxpayer’s monies on further removals. I personally appreciate all the measures that the town authorities are already taking to protect and increase the number of public trees and improve our environment.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

We had a wonderful time at "A Midsummer Night's Dream and Festival" in Verona Park yesterday. "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"... Shakespeare's play was performed by professional actors at 5 pm under the park's beautiful trees and a comfortable summer breeze; a perfect setting. We enjoyed to see our favorite fairy performing, the daughter of a very good friend and Verona neighbor. We even took some free lessons of chess and ate old-school rock candy. The festival produced by The New Jersey Arts Incubator -NJAI- on July 18 & 19, from noon through 8.00 pm- has all day entertainment with storytellers, music, art & crafts and food vendors. A proper Midsummer Night's Dream!

Annual Report

During the last council meeting Verona resident Ben Blinder brought up the topic of shade tree reports. Our Annual Accomplishment Report is put together by the Shade Tree Commission and submitted to the Community Forestry Program in Trenton, New Jersey.



Even though not many towns in New Jersey post the reports in the internet, it is certainly a good idea to make them easily available to the public. Here are the links to some 2008 examples: Borough of Chatham, Borough of Madison and Bernards Township.

Two weeks ago my husband filled out a request at Town Hall and obtained the following copy of Verona's 2008 report. For full size images click on the pages.

Cover Page
2008 Accomplishment Report


It is not common to find space dedicated to public trees or shade tree commissions in NJ towns' websites yet. Nevertheless, having such information on-line could highly improve communication with residents. These are some examples: Lower Merion Shade Tree Commission, Rutherford Shade Tree Committee and Montgomery Shade Tree Committee.

I agree with former Mayor Ken McKena when he recently said that perhaps our township authorities are not telling Verona residents enough of what they are accomplishing.

Closing Remarks

I would like to thank Mr. James Thomas, director of Verona Public Library, for providing me with a copy of last council meeting's DVD. A significant part of the meeting was dedicated to topics related to Verona's trees. The following are the closing remarks by former Mayor Ken McKenna and former Deputy Mayor Jay Sniatkowski.



To watch more videos from June 15th Council meeting visit www.youtube.com/VeronaTrees

The Council and the Town Manager promised to provide feedback to the public at the upcoming council meeting -Monday, July 20th, 7 pm at Town Hall. Residents are welcome to attend and hear this feedback first-hand. During the council meeting's second half public participation is allowed and this will be a great opportunity to ask questions or make suggestions.

DVDs of Township Council Meetings are available through the Verona Public Library, 17 Gould Street, Verona, New Jersey, 07044 - (973) 857-4848 - library@veronanj.org

There is also a new site from Tom Jung, VeronaStreaming.net, offering full length Verona videos that are too large for YouTube.

A busy day

Today Morningside residents received a letter from Township Engineer Jim Helb, asking them to indicate whether they wanted a new shade tree planted in front of their home. A stamped addressed envelope was included to facilitate this. I applaud this effort to improve communication and inform residents of this option. And I also welcome the initiative of tree experts on identifying suitable locations for our public trees.

There were many interesting articles on the Verona-Cedar Grove Times today. The following are related to Verona's trees, you can read the full text by clicking on the articles' titles:

Schwartz ready for challenges of mayoral post
By Joe Olivieri.

...First up is getting the shade-tree issue resolved, she said. Last month, residents presented the council with a petition complaining about tree removal. Officials explained town policy and are looking into the matter...As for more long-term projects, Schwartz would like to see a "not draconian" tree ordinance in place. Schwartz isn't sure what shape it would take, but it could include neighbor notification for tree removal or hiring an arborist.
"If trees are sick, they're a hazard. But if they're healthy, they reduce air conditioning costs (through shade) and prevent mud in basements," she said...

Deputy mayor: networking is key.
Frank Sapienza strives to maintain fresh perspective in local politics.
By Joe Olivieri.

...Looking ahead he cited the shade tree issue as a hot button topic. "In the next week or so, I'm going to meet with the Shade Tree Commission and see what they are all about", he said...

Letter to the editor: Verona needs professional arborist to help
By Elaine Balestro.

...This has been an ongoing concern of mine, which came to light after the township removed many mature oak trees from Hillside Avenue during the summer of 2000. The removal and non-replacement of those trees prompted my letters to Mayor Maria Force in November 2000 and Mayor Bob Detore in February 2002 and April 2003...What Verona needs is a professional arborist specialized in protecting street trees from construction damage who will act as a tree advocate working with contractors to plan and supervise construction from beginning to end...

Eight more trees at VHS!

Many parents noticed that there are more trees around Verona High School. Bringing my kids to take lessons at the Summer Music Program I saw at least 8 young trees recently planted along Sampson Drive. The 7 feet tall trees are maples, probably Acer Rubrum "October Glory", a beautiful shade tree addition to the VHS grounds. If you would like to suggest other locations to plant public trees do not hesitate to contact Verona Shade Tree Commission Chairman, Mr. Bob Dickison at 973-857-4803 or the Department of Public Works at 973-857-4804.

Rumors that need clarification

Some residents are troubled by last Council meeting's disclosure that the taxpayers of Verona are funding trees at a private, member owned golf club. In order to verify the source of the concerns, I contacted Mr. James Thomas, director of Verona Public Library. He courteously provided me with a copy of the video recorded at June 15th Council meeting.

I watched the video with my family and found the part where Township Manager Joe Martin refers to extra trees planted by Verona that are not part of the roadway projects. You can watch that video here:


Furthermore, I contacted Deputy Mayor Jay Sniatkowski for clarification on this matter. Mr. Sniatkowski assured me that the town never purchased any trees for the Montclair Golf Course. And that Mr. Joe Martin used the town of Montclair and the golf course in reference to that specific storm and the devastation it caused in those areas along with the Afterglow area in town in which Verona spent 50K to replace lost trees. The Deputy Mayor emphasized that the township of Verona didn't spend a dime for golf course or Montclair trees.

Please contact Mr. Joe Martin if you have further questions. I think that it is important to clarify any rumor that may be circulating regarding this topic.