UI Prepares To Axe 35 East Rock Trees

Three on Mechanic Street. Four on Bishop. Seven on Cottage. Three on State Street. Thirteen on Orange.

Christy Hass, the citys tree warden, unveiled that list of trees slated for removal Wednesday evening at a neighborhood meeting in the East Rock Magnet School auditorium.

Dave Goodson, vegetation manager for United Illuminating (UI), flipped through a slideshow of 35 trees the power company plans to remove. UI plans to cut down the trees which it says are dying, diseased, or decaying as part of the conversion process to an updated power circuit in the East Rock neighborhood.

If [a tree] is on this list, its got some serious problems with it, and it needs to come down, Goodson said.

About 25 neighbors showed up to hear about UIs plans, after removal notices appeared on trees around the neighborhood. The meeting occurred in the midst of an ongoing debate concerning UIs proposal to clear eight feet around all power lines and cut down thousands of street trees in the city.

East Rock Alder Jessica Holmes said at the presentations opening that the tree removals associated with the power circuit upgrade comprise a separate conversation from the enhanced tree-trimming plan UI proposed earlier this year.

Many power circuits in New Haven neighboring East Rocks have undergone the same updates, prompting the same procedures for cutting down and pruning branches along the power lines, UI said. The meeting was a chance for the power company and the city to answer neighborhood questions at a time when tensions about trees and power lines have been running high.

Hass said the almost two-hour meeting was intended to connect the 25 attendees with UI employees so they could share as much information as possible while UI is receiving so much publicity in the press.

I as the tree warden dont want to be the one standing on the front line getting shot at, getting yelled at, because UI hasnt communicated what theyre going to do, Hass said. This is a give and take so we can all begin to trust each other a little more.

At 80 years old, the Whitney Avenue substation near the Eli Whitney Museum is vintage, UIs Jim Cole said during his presentation. It feeds power to circuit 79-Y, which is bounded by Livingston Street on the West, Willow Street on the North, State Street on the East and Humphrey Street on the South.

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UI Prepares To Axe 35 East Rock Trees