LIPA to Plant New Trees in Malverne After "Aggressive" Trimmings

The leaves aren't the only thing missing off of trees around Malverne and West Hempstead right now.

Many have lost their limbs, some at the hands of Long Island Power Authority workers, as the company takes an "aggressive" approach to trimming the trees in the area, says Paul Jessup, superintendent of

Jessup spoke at the Feb. 1 village board meeting about the issue, explaining that a federal mandate requires all utility companies, including LIPA, to clear branches around their transmission lines. The Vegetation Management Reliability Standard (FAC-003) passed in 2005 established "a minimum clearance between trees and transmission lines in the right-of-way, which must be maintained at all times in order to achieve service reliability and public safety." (The law was passed in reaction to the 2003 blackout. Readers can find more information here.)

Utility companies could be hit with hefty penalities if one of their transmission lines is brought down by a branch, say during a storm, because they have failed to maintain the minimum clearance levels.

"It's a million-dollar fine," Jessup added.

That said, Jessup told the village board that LIPA's "aggressive" trimming efforts have "destroyed" the trees on Ackley Court (see photos above) in Malverne, but he's been in talks with the company to resolve the issue.

"I got them to concede to remove the trees from Ackley, because they are an eyesore," Jessup said. "They look terrible...and they wlll give us new trees."

Mark Gross, a spokesman for LIPA, said that upon the request of Malverne DPW, LIPA had returned to Ackley Court to trim the trees some more in an attempt to fix their awkward shape but that plan didn't work.

"No matter how much or how little we trim them, they never really look nice," Gross said. "It's just the species of the tree. We trim other types and they look more aesthetically-pleasing."

Therefore, they have now agreed to cover the cost of replacing the pine-oak trees on Ackley with a more "wire-friendly" species that typical won't grow as tall and has thinner branches. They would be planted in April in observance of Arbor Day. 

Gross said the relationship between Malverne DPW and LIPA is not contentious, adding,"LIPA and Malverne are working together to solve this problem."

Some residents may also have noticed that Malverne DPW has been trimming trees in the village too, but Jessup says this is something the department does on an annual basis. Unlike LIPA, Jessup says, his men are working from the ground level, rather than inside bucket trucks, and are only cutting branches that are hanging too low. He says these branches have been clipping trucks as they drive down the streets.

Still, Elaine Geldert, of Malverne, was furious last Friday when she spotted Malverne DPW workers trimming the trees on Silver Street. She posted photos of the affected trees to the "I Love Malverne But Hate the Brown Water (from LI Water) Facebook page along with this message: "It's bad enough we have to pay for these trees, but they have the right to do whatever they feel necessary to them, such as trimming them and possibly killing them. I'm sorry I do believe these guys are looking for work to do since the snow never [c]ame this year."

Far worse than any of the trees Patch spotted in Malverne though, were the ones we saw along Hempstead Turnpike in West Hempstead [see photo gallery above], which barely had any branches at all after a recent trimming.

West Hempstead Community Support and Civic Association President Rosalie Norton first called attention to the issue in late October, when she posted on Facebook, saying, "The 'BUTCHERS' of LIPA invaded my community in the past week or two. They are experts at redesigning our curb trees to resemble 'goal posts.'"

However, after sending a team to evaluate these trees Thursday, Gross told Patch that this was not the work of LIPA.

"That wasn't us doing those trees…we can tell by looking at them," he said.

Gross explained that whoever did cut these trees did not use the trimming technique that LIPA's trained workers follow.

What do you think of the situation? Has a tree on your block been over-trimmed? Post your thoughts - or even the name of your street - in the comments section below, or upload a photo of the damage.