Village Lost 516 Trees to Sandy

Of its extensive 16,000 tree inventory, the village of Garden City lost 516 "mature, beautiful specimens" as a result of Hurricane Sandy, according to recreation director Kevin Ocker.

While many blocked roadways and took down power lines, 60 landed on village homes. Building superintendent Mike Filippon said none of the affected homes had to be condemned.

"Some look very bad when you see a tree leaning against a house," he said. "However that doesn't mean that home is not habitable ... A few of the homes were bad enough that the residents voluntarily vacated them."

According to Filippon, whose department has received one Sandy-related application for repair as of Friday, an early tally indicated a tree fell on 15 homes in the western section; 11 in the Estates; six in Central; and 25 in the East, an area he said "seemed to take the brunt of damage."

Ocker said his crews worked with contractors to pull trees off houses and then helped Department of Public Works (DPW) crews clear streets. "Supervisors pulled together under extraordinary circumstances," Ocker said, naming Ed Fronckowicz, Sandy Young and Mike Didyk, who fielded anywhere from 700-800 calls from distressed residents during and after the storm.

Without power at the cottages, recreation employees worked out of a call center police commissioner Kenneth Jackson set up for them. "Overall, the experience was excellent," Ocker said.

He added that all the downed trees, mostly oak, have been cut into 11-foot logs that could be sold for approximately $100 per foot.

Village administrator Robert Schoelle said some of the stumps, measuring anywhere from 12 to 44 inches, have four to six-foot root balls attached.

"it was a busy and challenging 18 days," Schoelle said. "We planned for the worst and we were very fortunate to locate six qualified contractors who continue to help us."

According to the village administrator, approximately 700 out-of-state National Grid contractors are temporarily sleeping in the St. Paul's Field House after they return from storm damage restoration in the field. More crews are dorming at the Edgemere Road firehouse, where they'll likely stay through Christmas.

"There's a lot more to do, there really is," he added.

Schoelle said he's reached out to three universities to invite students in the landscape architecture program to use the village as their "palette" so to speak to help Garden City with re-planting efforts following the widespread storm damage.

"I sent letters to the landscape architecture programs at Cornell, Syracuse and City University of New York," Schoelle said, adding he hadn't yet heard a response from anyone as of Friday. "Incidentally both Kevin Ocker and Mike Didyk are Cornell grads."

Students could help with selection of species and more during the planning stages for re-planting on residential streets. "It's a good first start," Schoelle said.