save the willow tree in Davis sq!

[ellestreet.livejournal.com]

 There's a wonderful icon in Davis Sq that may die- please help!

There's a historic willow tree at the end of Thorndike Street in Davis sq that is planning to be cut down. There were enough people standing around this tree this morning that stopped Cambridge Landscaping to continue chopping it down.  The land is owned by Joe Benoit.  The landscaping company is planning on returning next week to try again. The tenants and neighbors are starting a petition...we only have one week to see what we can do.  Can you help spread the word?

We have created an email address for people to chime in...."Save the Willow"  savethewillow@gmail.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTheTh orndikeWillow

The page has a good picture of the tree, with the landscaping truck parked in front. 

 

Comments

[ron_newman]

Why is the city of Cambridge cutting down a tree in Somerville?

Is this the willow tree that Deborah Henson-Conant sings about in "Belinda" ?

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

...

...Cambridge Landscaping is a private company. Not the city of Cambridge.

[ellf.livejournal.com]

Why is it being cut down? Is it diseased? Is there new construction occurring?

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

Can you tell us why the tree was slated to be cut down? If it is rotten or poses a traffic hazard, I won't stop anyone from removing it. If this is just a case of someone wanting to cut down a tree to plant some shrubbery in its place, I will gladly lend a hand.

Moderator note: don't screen comments, please

[ron_newman]

It looks like you have comment screening turned on, since ellf's comment is hidden from everyone except the OP and moderators. I'm going to unscreen it. Please turn comment screening off. Thanks.

Specifically, you need to edit this post and change "Comment Screening" to "Journal Default".

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

Is this at the bike-path end of Thorndike or at Holland?

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

Bike-path end.

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

I like that tree. But if this is on private property, what's the basis for preventing the owner from doing with it as they please?

[ron_newman]

There may be no legal way to prevent it, but a petition signed by lots of neighbors should make a responsible property owner (and local business) think twice.

[http://users.livejournal.com/deviant_/]

How is the tree to which you refer historic? Is it actually historic, or just old?

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Why is the tree historic? Details please.

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

For references, these are some pictures I took of the tree several years ago (before it was trimmed back quite a bit)
http://web.mit.edu/boojum/Pix/Neighborhood/Tree/

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Er, where is this on Thorndike? I couldn't find it on Google Maps, and your photo seems to indicate it's on private property.

[ron_newman]

I suggest that you drop a line to Kat Powers, editor of the Somerville Journal, kpowers@cnc.com , 617-629-3385. The newspaper office is in the Harvard Vanguard medical building, just a block away from this tree.

It's probably too late to put anything in tomorrow's newspaper, but she could blog about it.

[ellestreet.livejournal.com]

thanks Ron!
She said she would blog it.
:)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I suggest contacting Ward 7 alderman Bob Trane, who is generally pretty responsive to resident issues. (If you're over the line in Ward 6, have someone who *is* in Ward 7 contact him.) His email address is RobertTrane (at) aol.com.

Contacting alderman-at-large Jack Connelly might be useful as well.

(I saw the people this morning while biking by on caravan, and thought to myself that it kinda looked like folks were standing there to save the tree from something, but I was still surprised to find out at the office that that was in fact what was happening.)

THIRD moderator note

[ron_newman]

I just unscreened a bunch of comments, and you screened them again. Why? I'm going to unscreen them one more time. Please turn off comment screening now. Thank you.

Re: THIRD moderator note

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

They're still screening comments.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

if they already tried to cut it down, how far did they get, and is it now a danger?

while i know that sometimes an old enough building is capable of being protected (sometimes against the owners wishes and interests); and some towns can certify certain trees as "speshul"... it's not too common.

the best thing is probably to find the tree huggers association, okay, "preservation society" of appropriate need and have at it.

on the flip side, if the owners of that property ever have that tree fall and crush things, they'd be liable i'd gather. they may also not want that, and it IS their tree and responsibility.

goodluck!

#

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

This is the tree destroying the sidewalk, sewers and someone's basement, right?

[aki.livejournal.com]

I don't know anything about this and I'm going to say 'probably' anyway. Willows are notorious for doing that - their roots love water and get into pipes.

Re: THIRD moderator note

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Okay... confirmed. This tree is causing massive public and private property damage. It's damaging at least one homeowner, the sewers, and the sidewalks.

Re: THIRD moderator note

[gwodder.livejournal.com]

It's huge and pretty though

[gwodder.livejournal.com]

Another reason that people should live outside instead of in houses.

[ifotismeni]

have fun with that!

[richips.livejournal.com]

Oh for the love of ye gads, people, this person is just new to lj, and lj just quit beta, so it's hard to figure out for long time lj-ers, nevermind new ones, so quit bombarding this person! screen unscreen boo hoo! everything doesn't have to be snark.


Meanwhile, what i came here to say was, this tree plot is remarkably like The Virgin Suicides!

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

But she's actively re-screening comments that Ron has unscreened!

save the willow!

[ellestreet.livejournal.com]

The tree is being torn down supposedly because it is a safety issue, but the evidence for this is unfounded and more likely the entire destruction of the tree is unneccesary. The property owner is taking the appropriate steps by halting the tree cutting to reassess with an arborist the health and affect of the tree.

Re: save the willow!

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Could you please point us towards a permit or a letter or something?

[derekp.livejournal.com]

The tree is on private property and is causing damage to both private and public property. It sure is pretty, but it's none of your business, really. Sorry.

And this is why there are Libertarians.

[aki.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Unless the neighbors are willing to step in and help with the costs to fix affected basements and public property, it's not really their problem. Plant a tree in your own yard and see how you like it when it destroys your pipes.

[ron_newman]

This song is specifically about the tree described here.

[ifotismeni]

oh my. that is very hippie @_@ they named the tree belinda? lawl.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I am really confused.

Okay. Someone has a pretty tree on their property, they are planning to cut the tree down, and you would like them not to have it cut down.

What are you offering the property owner as an alternative? If people in the neighborhood love the tree, perhaps taking up a collection to fund other ways of dealing with the issues the tree may be causing would be a positive gesture.

Emails from strangers don't seem to be a particularly helpful intervention. Support for finding alternative means of addressing the issues from neighbors? That would be a helpful intervention.

[ron_newman]

I agree, but preventing the tree from being chopped down This Very Second has to be done first, or else the rest of the ideas become moot. Now maybe there can be some positive discussion between the owner and his neighbors.

One more voice in the fray

[bikeagent.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to add my voice.

I truly hope there's a way to keep the tree. I've often admired it and feel that it simply makes the city a better place.

I would be very interested to hear the negative impacts of the tree; perhaps there might be good ways to mitigate these and preserve the tree.

I completely understand that it is on private property. I own property too and I know that personally I care about my neighbor's opinions and the effect of my actions on my community.

I hope the owners of 23 Thorndike reconsider their choice.

[beezy515.livejournal.com]

Willow trees are notorious for seeping into sewer pipes and causing massive damage, which is why you don't see many willow trees planted in the city. Willows are water lovers, so they are often found along stream beds and lake shores.

It only takes a hairline crack in the pipe to attract the tree roots, which will eventually push into the pipes and block them completely. Because the length of the tree roots can be more than twice or even four times the height of the tree, the roots can spread almost a block underground. There is often plenty of air in sewer pipes, so the roots grow above the water line, feeding off the water vapor. By the time they have spread enough to cause pipe blockage, they have also extended far down the pipeline, and hundreds of feet of pipe needs to be ripped up. That's why the damage from tree roots is so expensive to fix.

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

So, you're saying that there's a property owner who lawfully owns a tree and lawfully decided that they want this tree removed and lawfully hired a landscaping company to lawfully remove it, and a mob of people unlawfully stopped them from doing so... and you want me to support the mob?

No. No way.

I am sick to death of busybody resident groups deciding it's a great idea to force innocent land owners to do what the group wants with the land owner's property instead of what the owner wants to. I want no part of it. As long as they're obeying all relevant laws, it's none of our business.

[ron_newman]

Somebody posted a sign on the fence next to the tree, with this URL:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SaveTheThorndikeWillow

The page has a good picture of the tree, with the landscaping truck parked in front.

(Ellie, do you want to edit this link into your post?)

[elizethesleaze.livejournal.com]

its name is tim now??? what happened to belinda? you people dont even know this tree haha