Chainsaw In the end, it may have all started with a mistake by the fence company, but it’s caused the loss of a tree to the distress of local residents, and an un-neighborly dispute between two neighbors.
Ralph Paredes lives at 11 Third Avenue, a home he purchased some 23 years ago. Steven Pearson and his wife live at 1 Third Avenue, a home they purchased about a year ago, moving to the borough from Summit
Both homes are gracious, well-maintained, and the absolute pride of their owners. Because both homes front on Third Avenue and the Pearson property is on the corner of Ocean Blvd, it’s side yards that the neighbors share.
At one time, there was a cyclone fence separating their properties That was later taken down and replaced with an approximate five-foot-high wooden fence.
Like many homes in the borough, the Paredes yard is lush with trees, both for their beauty and the shade they provide. Their maple tree which abuts the fence has grown healthfully over decades and is statuesque in the neighborhood. But it apparently had a bough that grew from ground level closer to the fence.
The Pearsons, in their efforts to continue the appearance of the neighborhood, wanted to replace the wooden fence with a six-foot-high white vinyl fence. The Paredes agreed, and the neighbors talked about it.
However, last month it came as a shock to Mr. Paredes when he heard a chain saw in his backyard the day he knew the fence was being installed. Rushing out the back door, he saw his tree, the tall maple, was cut close to the base, saw blade going deep enough to ensure the death of the maple.
But since damage was already done, and it was apparent the tree could no longer be healthy, Mr. Paredes also agreed the Pearsons could cut the tree trunk to ground level and replace the ground cover maintaining the beauty of his yard.
But there was another problem. That chain link fence that had first divided the properties? The maple had grown around it, which meant there were metal pieces within the trunk of the tree, something that would damage a chain saw for certain.
So this week, a month after the initial work began, the new white fence is up and beautiful, the grand maple is gone save for its ugly slashed trunk and neither neighbor is happy.
The Pearsons had agreed to replace the tree with another one of their choice someplace else on the Pearson property. The Paredes selected a six- to eight-foot-tall red Japanese maple, perhaps not quite that tall but has since been planted in the Paredes’ yard, a far distance from the white fence between the properties.
The Paredes are upset, as are other tree lovers in town. The slashed trunk and hunk of the low growing bough are there, reminders of the neighborly disagreement and an ugly site to all on their side of the fence.
The Pearsons agree it is the fence company that erred in cutting the tree in the first place. Yet they have not taken any action against them, Pearson telling VeniVidiScripto “it’s my business how I want to handle that.”
Both Mr. and Mrs. Pearson lament that all this has happened and lament the disagreement with their neighbor. But they feel they have done everything they could and whether they choose to do anything with the person or company who apparently created the situation is something they did not care to discuss. They have, or plan to purchase, many more trees for the back side of their property, to shield their home from the apartments on Ocean Blvd that back up to the rear of their property.
The Paredes aren’t happy with the small Japanese maple that will take years to grow to any formidable size and create the aura they image for their year yard. They distress every time they go out their back door or into the yard seeing the sliced trunk of what was once a healthy maple on one side of their property.
It’s difficult to get over the cutting and killing of a tree on your own property without permission.
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