New Jersey Ave. Blogfinger photo 9/13/17
The Neptune Dept. of Public Works took down a tree today along the New Jersey Avenue short side of Firemen’s Park. The tree was dead and hallowed out due to termites, according to DPW workers today. They said it was part of our yard waste pickup week. It wasn’t clear how they decided to take that particular tree since there are many crummy looking trees around town.
But they weren’t the only only ones busy with chainsaws today in the Grove. The electric company hired a professional tree service company to take down tree branches that were threatening their overhead wires on Main Avenue alongside the park. The saws began their loud buzzing at around 7:15 am. The noise ordinance in town forbids such work until 8 am. So much for enforcing the ordinances.
Inside the park are huge trees that are desperately in need of pruning. Some of the trees along the interior periphery are so big that a falling branch could kill someone. Others, decorative trees, are growing out of control, also needing pruning for appearances, safety (kids climb on them,) and for the health of the tree.
The Township doesn’t seem to care about these issues. For trees growing in front of houses, the Neptuners expect the home owners to pay hundreds of dollars or more to maintain the trees. The funny thing is that those trees are owned by the Camp Meeting Association, and the Township doesn’t seem to care, even if those trees threaten the homes near to them.
Who maintains the trees in Neptune proper? And who takes care of the parks in Neptune-by-the-highway? Are they in as bad shape as the OG parks which Neptune “maintains.”
And while we are wondering, who fixes broken sidewalks in Neptune proper? You can bet that it is the Township. In OG, we seem to lose every battle that involves the CMA vs the homeowners vs the Township.
Take a walk in Firemen’s Park. There are brambles around the fire bell with sharp needles where children play. Weeds grow around the base of cherry, locust, ginkgo and service berry trees which had been paid for by the neighbors.
Unkempt, unruly Shade-master Locust tree on the Delaware Ave. side of the Firemen’s Park. Click to enlarge. © Blogfinger photo.
No one feeds those trees, and the “grass” is punctuated by large dead zones, and the grass is actually some sort of weed which grows because of survival of the fittest. That “grass” could probably survive on the surface of the moon. How does the grass look over at the park by the Shark River Marina? I think we will go over there and make a comparison.
And, watering those trees? No, we must rely on “September in the Rain.”
PEGGY LEE from the album Ladies of the Great American Songbook