{"id":368796,"date":"2025-11-10T08:27:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/368796\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T08:27:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:27:46","slug":"exclusive-nyc-man-chops-down-city-trees-to-improve-his-million-dollar-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/368796\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | NYC man chops down city trees to improve his million-dollar view –"},"content":{"rendered":"

A hacksaw-wielding homeowner last week razed a dozen city-owned trees in Queens to improve\u00a0his million-dollar view, joining other residents<\/a> greedily expanding their own vistas, too, activists say.<\/p>\n

The locals along a stunning stretch of 130th Street in College Point have become notorious for disrupting the waterfront area around Powell\u2019s Cove Park<\/a>, destroying public greenery under the guise of weeding out invasive plants and improving the parkland, according to preservationists.<\/p>\n

Queens Manuel Rueda admitted to cutting down a dozen Parks Department trees as part of his mission to remove bamboo creeping up this house. James Messerschmidt<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become a bit of a Wild West back there,\u201d said Kat Cervino, president of the Coastal Preservation Network,<\/a> who witnessed the latest alleged environmental assault firsthand last week.<\/p>\n

Cervino said she was preparing for a volunteer beach clean-up in the area when she spotted the accused elderly scofflaw.<\/p>\n

The man had wiped out at least 12 trees, leaving just their sad trunks peeking out of the ground after the vegetation assassination, Cervino said \u2014 calling the scene \u201castonishing in the worst possible way.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the homeowner, Manuel Rueda, 85, told The Post he was simply clearing a dense and towering cluster of bamboo that was threatening the foundation of his waterfront abode \u2014 which is surrounded by houses ranging from $830,000 and $1,500,000.<\/p>\n

Rueda said he made numerous requests for the Parks Department to remove the bamboo but was denied. James Messerschmidt<\/p>\n

The dozen trees around the bamboo that were hacked in the process were collateral damage, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI sent to the city so many files asking for help with the bamboo \u2014 it was high like the building, and it destroys the foundation of the house,\u201d said Rueda, who has owned his home for 11 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so dangerous. It goes into the foundation. I cut it out,\u201d added the homeowner, who said the two-story-tall bamboo rapidly accelerated toward his property over the past three years.<\/p>\n

He claimed the bamboo also poses safety hazards to neighborhood children who play in the area and was making the public walking path too narrow.<\/p>\n

Rueda, here in his backyard, admitted that clearer waterfront views were the \u201csecond reason\u201d he razed the two-story bamboo. James Messerschmidt<\/p>\n

But Rueda did admit that his waterfront views also played a part<\/a> in his actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a second reason,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people, they do the same. So I say, \u2018Why not?’\u201d Rueda said of his neighbors. \u201cI ended up doing something that the city has to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rueda said he sent this picture of the growing bamboo to the Parks Department. Courtesy of Manuel Rueda<\/p>\n

When Parks denied his request, Rueda took matters into his own hands. Stephen Yang for the New York Post<\/p>\n

Other neighbors frequently cut down the parks vegetation, as seen in this picture. James Messerschmidt<\/p>\n

The Parks Department told The Post that Powell\u2019s Cove Park has suffered from numerous tree-cutting incidents in the past few years but that no one has been charged or cited over them.<\/p>\n

Cervino theorized that the secluded nature of the neighborhood and the park offers homeowners the opportunity to \u201cjust keep getting away with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in that area for the last few years, there have been increasing violations that are slowly chipping away at that Parks Department property,\u201d the preservationist said. \u201cPeople have been expanding their backyards, building concrete walls, running their piping through there, they\u2019re cutting down trees, planting their own trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Removing city-owned trees is illegal and punishable by up to $15,000 and jail time. Stephen Yang for the New York Post<\/p>\n

The state Department of Conservation, which has jurisdiction over the involved wetlands, said the vegetation along the waterfront is especially vital in reducing flooding by absorbing rainwater, slowing down runoff with its canopy and root systems and stabilizing soil to prevent erosion.<\/p>\n

Destroying city and state park property is a serious offense. <\/p>\n

Anyone caught removing vegetation in a regulated tidal wetland or its adjacent area could be slapped with a fine of up to $10,000 per day per violation and be required to replant the damage, according to the DEC.<\/p>\n

The city Parks Department could also hand down an additional fine of up to $15,000 and\/or a year in jail for more serious offenses.<\/p>\n

A Parks rep emphasized that citizens should never take work on city trees into their own hands \u2014 and that they need a permit to conduct any work on city property.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur trees are a vital resource and an enormous value to our city. Damaging or destroying them is illegal and represents not only a loss of natural resources but also undermines the efforts of Parks staff and volunteers who care for our outdoor spaces,\u201d the representative said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A hacksaw-wielding homeowner last week razed a dozen city-owned trees in Queens to improve\u00a0his million-dollar view, joining other…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":368797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,5248,405,403,7619,5226,5225,5228,5227,7620,4413,18090,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-368796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-metro","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-new-york-city-life","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-parks-department","18":"tag-queens","19":"tag-trees","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-us-news","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115524462606400292","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}