By Howard Koplowitz
A Bellerose civic leader said a tree next to his property has been a thorn in his side after a branch fell into his backyard and he criticized the city Parks Department for saying it would take the agency 45 days to remove the branch.
Mike Augugliaro of the Queens Colony Civic Association said about six branches from the Callery Pear tree have fallen off, including a couple two weeks ago.
Augugliaro said he is concerned the branch, a portion of which is in his backyard and another part which is hanging between his fence and the sidewalk, may lead to lawsuits against him if someone gets hurt.
“It’s my tree when the city wants it to be my tree, but it’s theirs if they want it to be theirs,” he said. “It’s unexcusable — 45 days to pick up a tree? I wanted [to use] my backyard for the Fourth of July.”
The civic leader tied plastic bags to warn people walking on the sidewalk about the tree, but he said someone still bumped their head on the branch.
He said the base of the tree is causing problems with the sidewalk, making it lift, which could cause someone to trip on the irregular pavement.
“It’s getting bigger and bigger,” Augugliaro said of the tree.
Augugliaro said the first branch that landed in his backyard fell June 26 when it was windy and a second that blocked the sidewalk toppled over the next day, when it was calm.
About a month ago, Augugliaro said, a branch from a tree in front of his home also in front of his family.
“If it hit one of us in the head, it would have killed us,” he said.
Augugliaro just received a $300 check from the city comptroller’s office to reimburse him for the removal of a branch from another tree that fell last summer.
“The mayor wants to plant a million trees and there’s nobody to maintain them,” he said, referring to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2030 plan for sustainability.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
