AS member OTG grilled by media

[moss]

glad i'll never live in Boston or any other big city.

Ya take the good with the bad, it's really a living hell here, definitely don't visit!

Boston climbs

Old Dirty out on a limb

OTG in a beechy mood

Up in a big cottonwood

Nancy's treetop smile

We definitely hate it here in Boston,
-moss

 

[irish93stang]

The trees in East Boston were pruned to strict city of boston specs...height clearance over sidewalks and roads, house clearance,street light clearance, some wire clearance. The trees were also pruned for deadwood and structural defects. The trees that got "butchered and massacred" were trees that had been untouched for about 25 years , were overgrown and becoming hazardous and a nuisance . Out of 2500 trees pruned in east boston there have been a handful of complaints about the work, Mostly by IRRATE homeowners who are mad they had no say in the COB street trees and that pruning the trees the way we did was gonna dramatically affect the oxygen produced by the trees. The same homeowners who today watched the removal of 5 trees on their neighbor's property in a wetland area and had no complaints.
There was no mention by the media about the thousands of complaints that we respond to every year or the homeowners that are happy the COB trees aren't encroaching their properties. Once again the media paints an ugly picture.

 

[irish93stang]

No trees were topped. Some drastic cuts were made to get proper clearance. The trees that were shown on the news 7 clip were unfinished trees.. The resident in the house came out screaming and the crews stopped work on the tree... Prior pruning had been done to the tree by the resident so the tree looks a little bare once we got our proper clearances.

 

[fishercat]

trust me...........

Ya take the good with the bad, it's really a living hell here, definitely don't visit!

Boston climbs

Old Dirty out on a limb

OTG in a beechy mood

Up in a big cottonwood

Nancy's treetop smile

We definitely hate it here in Boston,
-moss

i keep visits to a minimum.

sorry to burst your bubble but they have trees in other cities and states.

 

[rmihalek]

Hey Irish93,

You're preachin' to the choir here, my man. We all know that OTG Boston has the best interests of these struggling city trees in mind. As far as these "Hank" reports go, OTG actually got a pretty fair shake in the deal. In other words, quite a bit of that news story represented his side, and I thought he represented the arborist's position very well.

 

[sawinredneck]

OTG was put in a bad position on this, he had to meet the cities requirements, as Irish stated, and the little bit of video was taken from an hour and a half of taping. Rest assured,he is unhappy about the trimming, and less happy about the video! But at the end of the day, he has to feed his family, just like the rest of us.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

OTG, what was the topic?

The topic was supposed to be how we are clueless tree butchers. As the process went on I think they realized that we were/are doing the right thing here.

Out of the tens of thousands of residents of East Boston, five people complained. I was disappointed they didn't include any people who were happy with the work, of course the people thanking us are doing so to our faces not running to the media.....

I appreciate the support from you guys, it really means a lot that other tree guys get it.

As for the 'experiment': It had nothing to do with the work itself, just the manner in which we approach it. We usually operate reactively to tree pruning requests we are trying to become proactive and prune every tree in every neighborhood every five years. Of course the first time through is going to be the most dramatic.

FWIW irish93donkey is the guy managing this particular contract, and he has done a great job!

 

[fishercat]

i can see the logic in what you guys did.

i just don't agree with the fact folks can't trim or remove their own trees.just part of life in the concrete jungle i suppose.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

i just don't agree with the fact folks can't trim or remove their own trees.

Neither do I, but these trees don't belong to them.

 

[BlackenedTimber]

My two cents:

I think that "Hank" oughta keep his mouth shut, and OTG, you represented yourself and the rest of us very well. I think they started out on a witchhunt, and you were able to soften their position considerably by not overreatcing, being professional, and acting like a gentleman.

The trees, some of them, do look a little extreme, but understandably so, considering they haven't been pruned in 25+ years, as you say.

All in all, good work.

I worked in Boston for a bunch of scumbags, and you couldnt pay me enough money to go back.

PS- nice to see all those Stihls in the news report!

 

[OTG BOSTON]

Thanks. HAHAHA Hank is a woman!

 

[BlackenedTimber]

Thanks. HAHAHA Hank is a woman!

If I was a woman named "Hank" I guess I might try to make a name out of pissing in other people's cheerios as well.

 

[treeseer]

PS- nice to see all those Stihls in the news report!

More Silkys + Less Stihls = >PR

 

[Dadatwins]

Out of the tens of thousands of residents of East Boston, five people complained. I was disappointed they didn't include any people who were happy with the work, of course the people thanking us are doing so to our faces not running to the media.....

This is sadly the same situation on most municipal operations, the complainers get the attention of the media and unfortunatly the folks in charge spend to much time pacifiying them to usually no avail. I think it is most humourous when the complainers do not even live near the work area, but complain anyway, while the people living under the tree are thrilled. Good luck with your project, while most folks are great to deal with and respect the work, those few complainers can make it no fun sometimes.

 

[Adkpk]

Since I read this thread I have been checking out the trees on my way to work and back. Seems like this is the way it's done. If you are looking at the trees from your car it makes not only perfect sense but also makes me feel safer. All you need is a box truck (for instance a rented box truck would make the most sense) to whack one of these low hanging branches and you'll be wearing it in your windshield.

 

[fishercat]

like i said..........

Neither do I, but these trees don't belong to them.

that part i understand.

do they not own the trees in their yard?


if not,that would suck.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

More Silkys + Less Stihls = >PR

I like it Guy. I actually changed the spec for this contract to maks sure hand snips, handsaws, and pole clips are on every truck.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

that part i understand.

do they not own the trees in their yard?


if not,that would suck.

no trees on private property were touched.

 

[treeseer]

I like it Guy. I actually changed the spec for this contract to maks sure hand snips, handsaws, and pole clips are on every truck.

Good plan, and not just for the PR. If those tools are handy they might even get used, and the crews will not only LOOK more like tree surgeons, they can prune more conservatively too while still getting needed clearance.

A related question: When branches over sidewalks are raised to 8', are the branches parallel to but not over the sidewalk automatically pruned to the same height?

If so, why?

imo if these branches should be cut only on a per-need basis, to the extent that the space must be opened for foot traffic or other clearance. Otherwise they should stay, for their contributions and to avoid a lot of unnecessary strain on the trees from sudden limb loss.

Do you belong to SMA? Someone should write this experience up for City Trees magazine.

 

[fishercat]

just like a Mass politician.

no trees on private property were touched.

not answering the question. :biggrinbounce2: