Gardens Residents Push LIRR To Restore Embankment Treeline

Roughly a dozen Forest Hills Gardens residents gathered on Burns Street Wednesday morning, including representatives of the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation, for a meeting with Long Island Railroad representatives that was not to be.

Set up by residents Russ Gundlach and Anna Guasto, the meeting was intended to be a dialogue about the continuing efforts of residents to protect trees along the contested LIRR embankment.

Four years ago, the LIRR started trimming trees on the local embankment to curb “slip-slide” among trains in the neighborhood. “Slip-slide” is a problem that occurs when leaves and other foliage fall across train tracks and make braking more difficult for slowing trains.

As a part of the trimming, trees close to the embankment were cut down.

The problem, residents said, was that trees along the property line were vital in reducing noise and the visual eyesores of trains stopping at the Forest Hills station.

and is ready for another tree-trimming session on July 5, between Ascan Avenue and Station Square, according to residents.

“Our quality of life is definitely diminished, and that’s basically what we’re trying to put a stop to know,” Gundlach said. “’Tree-trimming’ is exactly the same terminology they used when they came in and started clear-cutting over here.”

A representative of the LIRR cancelled an appearance at the meeting, residents said, when he was told that members of the local press would be present.

Guasto said that her goal with the meeting, which she hopes to reschedule, was to “get them to survey the area and clean it up, and get them to replace,” the trees that have been lost.

Frank Gulluscio, district manager of Community Board 6, said the biggest issue right now is that the LIRR has not filled in the previously cut trees with more “track friendly” species, like evergreens, which are safer along tracks because of the lack of falling leaves.

“I think the most important thing is that they never came back to give us ‘track-friendly’ trees,” Gulluscio said. “They knew that the quality of life here was disturbed, very much so.”

In a 2007 release, the transit authority pledged to work with the community, saying “LIRR representatives will be available to discuss replace trees at the Railroads expense with track-friendly trees such as evergreens.”

An LIRR spokesman said last week that currently there are no plans to do any replanting in the area.