Great Neck nixes tree-trimming proposal

A proposed law that would allow Great Neck residents to trim village trees that immediately adjoin their properties without a permit was voted down this week.

Great Neck trustees had considered the law as a “benefit to the homeowner,” said Mayor Ralph Kreitzman, who joined trustees Jeffrey Bass and Barton Sobel in voting down the proposal Tuesday night.

The law would have allowed only trimming that didn’t harm the tree or substantially alter it.
Several residents argued against the idea at the meeting.

“People should not have the right, unauthorized, without having the expertise to start handling village property,” said Stuart Feigenblatt, a resident of Great Neck. “It’s dangerous.”

Another resident, Elizabeth Allen, said she wanted a permitting process with a review by village officials “rather than having a lumberjack free-for-all.”

But Deputy Mayor Mitchell Beckerman said residents should be expected to properly care for the trees in front of their homes.

“If this is your property, you should be looking for these trees to be as beautiful as possible, not to butcher,” he said.