Your own letters

Yesterday Mr. Balestro, a Verona resident, presented the petition to save the healthy public tree located at 16 South Prospect Street. He read the petition signed by more than 100 residents at the Council Meeting in Town Hall. He finished saying:

Therefore we, the undersigned, respectfully petition to have the public tree at 16 South Prospect Street professionally pruned instead of removing it. We also suggest doing the pruning under the supervision of a qualified arborist who could provide the township with appropriate documentation to avoid further liability issues. The town can not be held liable if this healthy tree is properly pruned. Please save the mature healthy trees of Verona.

Mrs. Burnham, a biologist and Verona resident who collected the signatures and also appeared on Channel 12 news defending the tree, asked the Town Manager to reconsider. But Mr. Joe Martin explained that unfortunately the liability issues went already too far (due to two insurance claims from Mrs. Eileen Mc Girr, the property owner of the dental office at 16 S. Prospect Street). He concluded that the decision was made and the tree will be removed. Three trees will be planted in its place after installing a new sidewalk.

I showed the posted picture of children from the neighborhood (my 2 kids included) with the sign "Save This Healthy Tree" at 16 South Prospect Street. I explained that people get very attached to their street trees and that we could avoid removing healthy trees and liability issues with the help of an arborist. Mrs. Burnham also requested to stay away from monoculture when replanting trees.

Our Town Manager answered by requesting the Town Engineer, Mr. Helb, to coordinate with the Shade Tree Commission members the planting of different types of appropriate trees in that location. And he added that starting IMMEDIATELY Verona will have an arborist in the staff working in conjunction with the Shade Tree Commission.

I am not glad with the news of the tree coming down. There are innocent victims in all conflicts, in this case is the 16 S. Prospect Sycamore tree. The good news is that because of this tree and all the support from neighbors Verona will have an arborist to help the volunteers in the Shade Tree Commission take care of the many mature trees in town; giving them proper maintenance and preventing liability matters.

Not everybody knows that all of these commissions in Verona are run by volunteers in their spare time and they do need our support and help. This is certainly a big step in the right direction.

Below are some of the many letters that you sent to this blog to save this tree, your efforts are not in vain:
1)

Please save the Sycamore public tree located at 16 S. Prospect Street in Verona. As a Verona resident of more than 20 years, I am appalled by the wanton cutting down of centuries old trees. Please use the Public Works budget to maintain the beauty of Verona!
Thank you, Joseph Campisi

2)

I am writing in support of the Verona Trees organization in their efforts to preserve the mature trees in our town. I agree that no tree should be removed unnecessarily, and that everything be done to prevent their removal, beginning with assessments by qualified professionals. Surely the effort to properly prune a tree cannot be much more involved that simply cutting it down.

In the case of the Sycamore tree at 16 So. Prospect St., who has determined that cutting it down is the only course of action? If in fact, the tree can be saved with judicious pruning and care, then simply cutting it down is unconscionable. No one wants trees on our streets that are not healthy and safe, but we must make the care of older trees a priority.
Sincerely,
Joanne Ricci

3)

I am a resident of Verona who regularly travels S. Prospect Street.
I write to urge the town arborists to SAVE the Sycamore tree living near 16 S. Prospect by effecting it's proper pruning and saving this nearly 100 year old life.

The concerns of a local resident who fears for the paint job of a car that will likely be scrapped in a few short years, should not abridge the right to life of a beautiful and sturdy deciduous plant that will add oxygen, shade and quiet to a lovely neighborhood, and which survives on PUBLIC land. (Picture this street corner, if you will, without this stately tree!)

As the granddaughter of a former "Tree Warden" from a hamlet in Western Massachusetts, I am constantly chagrined and saddened to observe the attitude of New Jersey locals regarding the stripping of tree life from their neighborhoods. Compare, if you will, the streets of lower Bloomfield, where hardly a large tree stands to "inconvenience" the homeowners there, to the stately arbored streets of Montclair. Drive through either neighborhood on a hot summer day, and note the difference in the levels of heat, road dust, and noise. The trees of Montclair are a buffer against the insults of modern life! They improve our own quality of life, and ultimately, the home values of any neighborhood where they are allowed to thrive. If the whims of a few are chronically allowed to usurp the public good, before long, Verona will resemble the barren neighborhoods to our East.

Moreover, removing a life form that has already outlived any of its human neighbors, which poses no real risk, (and whose majestic historical growth could never be replaced), would be a crime against the generations who will follow us. Please spare this Sycamore for those who would continue to appreciate its sacred presence!

Yours sincerely,
Lynn Moore Chase

4)

I saw the editorial in the Verona paper and wanted to pledge my support for the sycamore tree!

This concerned property owner should know that trees can add thousands of dollars to a home's value and increase its curb appeal.

I also think it's wonderful that the children in this picture care to make a difference in their neighborhood and appreciate the beauty and importance of mature trees.

Please let me know if there's anything I can do to provide further support.
Maggie Rowan