Don’t get me wrong: I know well — and firsthand — the joy of seeing the Mohawk River from your own home or backyard. What I do not know is how two men in their 60’s could be so selfish and reckless that they (allegedly) had three hundred trees clear cut — on property owned by the NYS Canal Corporation — in order to improve the view of the Mohawk River from their homes. According to our local news media and police, that is exactly what Brian Gain, 67, and Raymond Tannatta, 63 (of the Schenectady suburb of Niskayuna) did recently in order to improve the view of the River from their Middle Street homes, near the Rexford Bridge. See “Two Arrested for Illegally Cutting Trees” (Fox News 23, May 15, 2008), which includes a before-and-after video clip).
As Fox News 23 reporter Jeff Saperstone told us last night:
“Large, lush trees bordered the Mohawk River coastline last year. Now looking at that same coastline, one man says, “…it’s just empty.”
“. . . . FOX23 News spoke with several concerned neighbors, who did not want to go on camera, but they told us they are very disappointed those trees came down because it ruins this very nice natural landscape. Photos given to FOX23 by those neighbors show a number of trees that no longer stand. In some of the photos you can see bald eagles, red foxes and other creatures that call this place home.
“The fear here is that because there are no trees left on the cliff side, any kind of rainstorm could cause a mudslide of sorts thus filling in the lagoon beneath the cliff.”
[photo of the Mohawk R. at the Schenectady Stockade — about a mile from the Niskayuna despoilation — by D.A. Giacalone, May 2008]
According to Capital News 9, “Gain and Tannatta are charged with third-degree criminal mischief, making a false written statement, along with the violations of illegally cutting trees, causing damage to canal property and occupying canal property without a permit. . . They were issued appearance tickets for the Town of Niskayuna Court on May 28.” Today’s Schenectady Gazette online gives a comprehensive report on the story, in “2 accused of cutting trees on state land” (by Steven Cook, May 16, 2008). The Gazette tells us:
“State police investigated after receiving a complaint about three weeks ago that there were trees in the river. They soon realized the land behind the houses had been clear-cut, with about 300 trees taken down and left where they fell.
. . . . “The people who allegedly did the actual cutting are expected to face environmental conservation law violations for leaving the trees in the river, [State Police Zone Sgt. Mark] Phillips said. They were brought in believing the land belonged to the nearby homeowners.
. . . “If they are found guilty, they could face fines of $250 per tree, Phillips said. That would be in addition to any penalty on a criminal mischief conviction.”
The Gazette article notes that “A judge could also order them to restore the property to its prior state.” The tragedy, of course, is how impossible such a restoration would be (at least in my lifetime). In addition, I believe that damages should be assessed using a multiple many times more than a fine per tree. The overall marring of the landscape and scenery is far greater than the sum of the trees gone.
I wish the Niskayuna Zoning Board could have read Mr. Tannatta’s mind, when it granted his request for a zoning variance (scroll to item #6) to build on the lot at 832 Middle Street in 2005. In the Channel 23 piece, one of Tannatta’s neighbors says, “We are sure our neighbors are good people who just made a selfish choice.” Frankly, I am not quite so sure. Right now, I am too angry at Gain and Tannatta to even attempt to find a haiku or two to end this posting.
If my “neighbors” in the white house across the River from me in Scotia ever get the notion to cut down the trees blocking their view of the Mohawk, they better worry about a citizen’s arrest and a nice lawsuit.
On a cheerier ending note, check out the lovely photos I took earlier this week at the Albany Tulip Fest; they’ve been added at the bottom of our May 9th posting “tulips-R-us.”