Submitted by Dorothea Poggi, Mar 29, 2007 10:04

With the focus on economic development and affordable housing, the cost of replacing the much needed tree should not be that of the contractor or the developer, we find they easily escape this responsibility.

The City should should be accoutable to insure the trees get replaced.

We have 6acres of woodland that was sold by the city for 4million and there will be at least 5 acres of trees gone....there are no plans for replacement because it was city property.

There is a 220 acre Park property that was supposed to become a Golf Course in Ferry Point Park. 200 mature trees were destroyed and were supposed to be included in the project. That changed 5 years later. Now the are changing deals and no one is responsible for the destroyed trees.

We have a Home Depot that is leasing a large parcel of land that is not accoutable to the community for greening their roof or putting trees in their lot to lower the heat eminated by the cement and asphalt.

The lobbying and under the table deals are what is keeping the costs up on everthing....while tax abatements are being given to the large developers to keep jobs in the Bronx, the trees are disappearing. We still have the highest asthma rate yet our trees are swiped away in acres while they plant 20 along the highway.

Old one family neighborhoods are destroyed because new 3 family row houses get tax abatementsbut with them go the beautiful or ugly huge tree that took 70 years to grow in that back or side yards.

Even cemeteries are not buying more land where they planted trees, instead they are building crypts that cost more on less land and no trees. The new designs are also without trees.

Keep it up and we will be a city of poisionous gases and no natural filters to save our air.

The Borough President Adolpho Carrion was on TV mentioning the tremendous amount of trees his office has had planted aside of the Parks Department....maybe he has the answer....

Maybe this job has become one of those City Jobs that take advantage of the $ available and only certain people that know certain people get this job???? at 55$ an hour and the freedom to have alot of unexplained hours to plant a tree.

Either way...this should be looked into and maybe become a trained job in prisons so when the prisoners come out they will be glad to be given this job at a lower pay scale....and we can help get them off the streets mugging 90 year old woman and raping 10 year olds....

Maybe planting living trees that they can see grow is just the answer for their miserable spirits.

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