Queens man saws down trees on protected wetlands, angering nature lovers
Environmental advocates are outraged after trees were illegally chopped down on protected land in New York City.
The homeowner who cut down the trees in College Point, Queens, said he had a valid reason and was not trying to break the law.
Powell's Cove Park trees cut down
Kat Cervino, an environmentalist and co-founder of Coastal Preservation Network, knows every inch of Powell's Cove Park, which made it even more of a shock when she saw a man taking a saw to a cluster of trees on protected wetlands.
"I was walking here getting ready to plan our cleanup, a beach cleanup that we were having," Cervino said. "To see somebody just cutting down trees is a horror."
The New York City Parks Department website says the park "was envisaged as a waterfront park to protect tidal wetlands and the natural environment of the marshland region."
Damaging trees on public land is illegal and may result in hefty fines, or even jail time, according to the Parks Department.
Cervino said the wetlands were previously damaged by residents' illegal decks, and that the coastline trees are a vital buffer against erosion.
"This is a wildlife habitat," she said.
Man vows to replant trees after realizing mistake
College Point homeowner Manuel Rueda, 84, said he cut down the trees as a last resort, even though many nature lovers thought it might have been a thoughtless act to simply get a better view of the water.
Rueda said invasive bamboo overtook a walking path and crept toward his home.
"If I don't do anything, it's going to get the foundation. That's no good," said Rueda, who works in graphic design.
Records show six pruning requests that he sent to the Parks Department went nowhere.
Rueda said he regrets chopping down the trees himself and vowed to replant double the amount he removed.
"I feel so bad because of the trees, not because of the bamboo. But for trees, I feel so bad," he said "I don't want to do anything that's against the law."
Cervino sees it as teaching moment and hopes for better signage and enforcement from the city.
"I hope the destruction will end and that it can be restored," she said.
No one has been charged or fined over the Powell's Cove Park trees at this time, city parks officials said.