Love 'Em & Leave 'Em: Bronxville Green Committee Hosts Residents Presentation

Continuing in its efforts to promote the “Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em” (LELE) initiative and bring the landscaping practice of mulching to Bronxville, the Bronxville Green Committee held a residents' presentation at the Wednesday evening, attended by a dozen local residents and led by members of the Irvington Green Policy Task Force.

LELE, which promotes on-property mulching of fallen leaves instead of the more popular “blow and tow” practice, has been endorsed by Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin, who has said that all Village properties will be treated according to this environmentally-friendly practice this year.

On site-mulching not only presents economic benefits by cutting down on towing, dumping and man-power costs, but it is benefits the environment, as it returns key nutrients back to the soil, reduces the need for fertilizers and helps soil retain moisture better. Mulching also limits green-house gas emissions and cuts down on gasoline usage of leaf-blowers. In addition, unsafe driving conditions and runoff pollution of waterways caused by leaf piles are avoided.

Most importantly, the current costs of leaf collection and removal is far from insignificant, and is something mulching can help reduce. Last fall, the Village of Bronxville spent $100,000 to dispose of all its fallen leaves. Westchester County spent approximately $4 million.

Although the Green Committee’s initial goal was to reduce Village spending related to leaf collection and removal by 20% this year, Mark Gilliland of the Irvington Green Policy Task Force – the main speaker at Wednesday’s event – says a reduction of that size in the next two or three years would “sound very good.” As Mayor Marvin pointed out, such a decrease would represent a ½ point tax cut for Bronxville residents.

From here, members of the Green Committee say LELE efforts will center mostly around educating residents about its benefits. Small wooden stakes with an “LELE” logo will be placed on each property that partakes in the initiative, encouraging non-participants to learn more about it and what they can do to join in.

Bronxville resident Neely Bower, who says she has been mulching leaves on her lawn for over 20 years, expressed concerns over how well the LELE initiative would be received in Bronxville – where she says lawns are often small and fragile – although she says has no plans on stopping doing it herself.

“I think it’s a fabulous idea,” Bower said. “People sort of look at me as a crazy lady, but I’ve done it forever. It’s fine for municipal and big lawns, but it’s a little unsightly on smaller ones. You really have to work to make it work. But I think it’s a great idea.”

Although acknowledging the concerns of Bronxville residents who might not be comfortable with the idea of allowing their shredded leaves to decompose on their lawns, Gilliland believes the LELE initiative can be successful, and could be a useful contribution to solving the County’s current tax problems.

“Everyone now is going to be looking for whatever corners they can try to trim on the budget,” he said. “What your going to do [through LELE] is not so much reduce taxes as much as slow the rate of growth of taxes. Whether or not that could become the eventual place in 5, 6 years out is really based on public education and how much buy in there is.”

For more information on the Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em initiative, residents are encouraged to visit the Irvington Green Policy Task Force’s Youtube channel, as well as their official website.