Mineola Residents To Village: Don't Take Our Trees!

Mineola residents who have put down roots on Foch Boulevard have a clear message for the village: leave our trees alone.

Some of the tall oak trees on the road have already been removed, which rustled the leaves of many residents on the block. The village is doing road work on Foch Boulevard, and says some of the trees on the road need to come down for safety reasons. In addition to tearing up and repaving the road surface, crews are replacing pipes under the roads. In some cases, they need to cut away the roots to the trees, which weakens them. If a strong storm hits, the village says, the trees become a hazard as they could fall onto roads or nearby houses.

"Our village values trees and is not removing every tree on the street," Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss wrote in a letter to residents. "We are only removing those trees that have completely outgrown and overgrown the three-foot planting area between the road and the sidewalk. After roadwork is completed, any trees removed will be replaced with new, road-friendly trees. Our village streets will continue to be tree-lined."

But it's not just the removal of trees that has residents up in arms, but how it was done. Residents on the block say they weren't informed the trees were going to be removed until crews showed up and started cutting some down. Strauss posted the letter on the village's website on Thursday, July 20 — after the village had already removed trees.

Residents say they don't want their decades-old trees cut down and replaced with saplings.

"How is it that Garden City and East Williston maintain their trees and we can't?" said resident Cathryn Mezzo, who has lived in Mineola her entire life. "How would Mayor Strauss feel if this was his street? The residents want a dialogue, not a surprise attack. We are reasonable residents."

Foch Boulevard residents held a protest last week on the stump of one of the trees that used to line their street. Holding signs reading, "What The Foch? Save Our Trees!" they challeneged the village to not remove the trees, which they say give the neighborhood character. Removing them would make the road ugly and hot, they say.

It's unclear exactly how many trees the village plans to remove. Patch reached out to Mayor Strauss but has not received a reply.

Photos: Courtesy Cathryn Mezzo