Westchester is filled with
wooded, tree-lined neighborhoods. It's part of the charm of living in the area.
But rough weather can bring big problems.
That's why for years, Con
Edison has had a hazardous tree trimming and removal program.
But
recently, they expanded it. "We identify trees that are on private
property that we determine really could become a problem to our service wires
if they were to fall. And with customer consent, safely remove them and thereby
reduce our outages,"
says Lori Miller, section manager
of Con Ed contract
management.
The work is done free of charge, and Miller says last year their crews
removed approximately 2,000 trees that posed a threat to electrical wires and
trimmed about 1,500 miles. More than half of that was in Westchester. Many of the trees that are removed
are already dead or diseased.
Local police officials say
the program has helped the area's first responders especially when storms hit.
"When trees come down
and involve the wires, it's very
hazardous to pedestrians, motorists, etc. and also for us to respond to any
emergency. Whether it's the police, fire or an ambulance so the benefit is
significant," says North
Castle Police Chief Peter Simonsen.
Living
on beautiful Briggs Lane in Armonk, George Drapeau has certainly seen his share
of downed trees and wires after a storm. He says he likes the idea that healthy
trees can be preserved simply by trimming and keeping them from becoming a
hazard. "I'd much rather have a tree
care program than 40 generators going after a storm."
If you think you have trees
that may qualify for
Con Ed's tree program, just contact them and they'll send
someone to come check out your property.