....February 2, 3:50 PM
	Queens Leads City In Botanic Bounty Construction was blamed for damaging a 12-inch red maple that later had to be removed (r.). Some roots are still visible. Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen By ANDREW MOESEL George Washington once chopped down a cherry tree that his father had told him not to touch, but then famously admitted what he had done soon after. Ironically today, if you own up to cutting down a city-owned tree in New York, you’ll be paying quite a few George Washington’s to the Comptroller’s office, a Queens Tribune inquiry has found. As part of a larger initiative to pursue more active claims, in 2003 City Comptroller William Thompson began helping the Department of Parks and Recreation collect damages from people who had destroyed public trees. Since then, the City has collected just over $300,000 from tree-related claims. City agencies often seek to recoup property damages on their own, but when they occasionally get stonewalled, the Comptroller steps in to negotiate a claim on their behalf. “The comptroller’s office approached us. They had increased their staff and were reaching out to all city agencies to explain how they can help assist us,” said Walter Johnston, a spokesperson for the Parks Department. “The comptroller has been a great partner in helping us protect the city’s many trees.” Queens was home to 18 separate cases where city trees were destroyed, the most of any borough, resulting in $57,733 in damages. The single largest claim in Queens was filed during December 2004, when a landscaper cut down five trees near a company located at 180-03 145th Ave. The property owner argued that the trees had cracked the sidewalk and made it unsafe, forcing him to hire a contractor to repair the problem. A settlement was eventually reached that netted the City $12,000. A claim involving more dramatic circumstances occurred in January 2004, when an intoxicated Brooklyn firefighter slammed his car into a tree on Forest Parkway just south of Myrtle Ave. The man’s auto insurer ultimately paid the City $9,100 the following July. The comptroller’s office determines appropriate restitution with a formula that weighs the size, species, condition and location of the damaged trees. Although Staten Island had only four individual claims, those cases resulted in $105,349 in compensation, the highest of any borough. It was also home to the largest single settlement – $45,000 – for the removal of a 29-inch thick oak tree. Liam Cavanaugh, a Parks Department first deputy commissioner, said in the last several years his agency has worked much more closely with the Comptroller’s office to determine the value of the trees. “In that sense, it has been a successful partnership,” he said. Money from the settlements goes into the City’s general fund. Each year the Parks Department receives a budget appropriation from the general fund for its forestry unit, which maintains and plants new city trees. There are more than 500,000 lining the streets and sidewalks of New York, and an additional 2 million in city parks, Johnston said. The comptroller’s office has pursued similar claims for other city agencies, collecting payment for damages to city-owned hydrants, buildings and street signs. “The Comptroller maintains that centralizing affirmative claims within this office has helped to streamline the process and has made it much more fluid and generated more dollars,” said Jeff Simmons, a spokesman for the office. “During each of the last two calendar years, the Comptroller’s office garnered more than $1 million in all affirmative claims.” Trees add to the quality of life of city residents, increase real estate values and even keep people healthier, park officials said. While its good to receive money to replace lost foliage, they say, it would be better not to lose them at all. “You cannot replace a 40-year old oak in a couple of weeks,” Johnston said. “It takes 40 years.”