Residents express ire at sudden tree removal near K. Hov site
Trees chopped down to make way for utility lines, no notice given
When Asbury Park resident Judi Hull returned to her home at 403 Sewall Avenue Wednesday, she found the 30-foot Elm tree that used to be in front of her home had been removed. She immediately logged onto a social media website restricted to Asbury Park residents and city officials for answers.
The removal of the tree in front of Hull’s home, along with three other trees located in an area along a portion of the western waterfront set for redevelopment, has ruffled the feathers of a few city residents.
“Someone just cut down my beautiful old shade tree on my sidewalk strip of land. No note in the mailbox, no warning, no phone call no nothing. How rude. I’m not sure who is responsible,” Hull wrote.
“I hate reading things like this,” one resident wrote within the comments section of the post. “I saw the missing trees today, and it made me sick.” Another resident speculated whether the tree was diseased and had to be removed for safety reasons.
Hull’s property lies on the block adjacent to where national homebuilder K. Hovnanian plans to build a 28-unit townhome development. While Hull [shown at right] understood why the three trees on the other side of the block where the project is slated to be built were taken out, she found herself vexed with why the tree in front of her property — located across the street and down the block from her house —was cut down without her notice.
The trees are being taken down in preparation for the installation of new streets, sidewalks and lighting, according to Brian Cheripka, vice president of land for master waterfront redeveloper iStar Residential, who has brought K. Hovnanian in to develop the site. “The utilities in the area are going underground. As such, the utility company determine which trees need to be removed and which trees need to be trimmed as part of the overall improvement plan. This work was all part of the infrastructure improvement plan, previously approved by city council.”
Specifically, the tree that was cut down in front of Hull’s house was required by Jersey Central Power & Light for a service pole, according to an email sent to city administration from Tom Simeone, vice president of construction for iStar.
In the email, Simeone asked if the city had notified residents of the changes that would occur in the neighborhood in regard to the project’s infrastructure.
City Engineer Joe Cunha said the “standard policy with any municipal project is that the contractor is responsible for all notifications.”
Removal of any tree that exists within the city right of way requires approval by the city’s department of public works, and the city’s Environment and Shade Tree Commission had also granted approval on the removal of the trees years ago, according to Tom Pivinski, chair of the city’s Environment and Shade Tree Commission.
“It was something that was in the works for years,” Pivinski said.
“I met with the city manager this afternoon,” said Councilman John Moor, who also responded to the post. “The city engineer was informed by iStar a week ago that this work was going to be done, unfortunately, he did not share that information with anyone. It was a terrible mistake and it won’t happen again. I went over to explain that personally to Ms. Hull that the trees on the south side of the street were taken down because of utility work.”
“It was an unfortunate breakdown in communications, but there was never any intent to disrespect [Ms. Hull],” said Cheripka. We always thought she would be informed about it by the city, and she wasn’t. It is unfortunate iStar is working with the city to make sure this does not happen again, where people just come home and find out after the fact.”
Hull purchased the property in 2012, a decade after the waterfront redevelopment plan was created and approved by past city council, and has spent over a year making improvements to the structure, she said.
“We bought here knowing it was an investment property and there was going to be redevelopment,” Hull said. “But I would have chained myself to that tree if I was here.”
“Hopefully, in the future, either the city, iStar, or both, will notify residents when work is going to begin in their neighborhood,” Moor said.
Representatives from K. Hovnanian will appear in front of the planning board Monday for further approvals on the project, including a variance for lot frontage.
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