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Resident presses city to replace trees, restore garbage receptacle on South Clinton Street
Summary
A Ward 8 resident said trees removed for blight were not replaced despite earlier assurances and asked the city to restore a mid-block garbage receptacle; a city official said they would investigate and arrange a receptacle.
Judy Green, a South Clinton Street resident, told the Poughkeepsie Common Council at an informational meeting that trees removed from the west side of South Teton Street were promised replacements that never arrived and that neighborhood trash collection needs have worsened without a mid-block receptacle.
Green said she raised the tree removals at a prior department-head meeting after the trees were taken down for suspected blight. She said Department of Public Works staff originally told her the trees would be replaced in spring, then fall, but replacements did not occur. "I was assured by Mr. Lopez of the Department of Public Works that they would be replaced in the spring. Well, they weren't replaced in the spring and then they weren't replaced in the fall," Green said.
Green said traffic rerouting increased pollution on South Clinton Street and that the trees were the only mitigation. She also described persistent overgrowth of plants such as burdock and comfrey after the trees were removed, and said a neighbor threatened her with a $250 fine over the vegetation. "I offered to purchase and plant trees myself in order to try to reduce the pollution," she said, but added she was told privately that planting trees on the city strip was "illegal." She also asked that a removed mid-block garbage receptacle be returned, saying neighborhood volunteers spend about a half-hour daily picking up litter.
A city official on the dais, identified in the meeting as Gent, responded that he would investigate the tree-replacement timeline and constraints (including power-line setbacks) and that he would arrange for a garbage receptacle to be placed in the area. Gent said some tree species cannot be planted under power lines and that he would "find out the extent of what was going on there." He also said, "As far as the receptacle goes, I will get one out there as soon as possible." No schedule or funding source was provided during the meeting.
The exchange was recorded during the public-comment portion of the informational meeting; Green asked the council for action and an explanation for the budget or scheduling delay.
Green's remarks were confined to public comment and did not result in a formal motion or vote during the session.
