Friday, March 07, 2008

COMPROMISE-LEAF BLOWER LAW...GREENBURGH SHOULD CONSIDER HASTINGS MODEL

Hastings just approved a leaf blower law. The law allows the blowers to be used between Oct 15 and May 15 and then only from 9 AM to 5 PM. The law provides the village manager the power to approve usage from May 16 to October 14 if there is an emergency. The village spent months working out a compromise. I would like to suggest that the town consider adopting a similar ban. If our law complements Hastings – it will make it easier for landscapers who serve both communities to understand the restrictions

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

great idea. Good going

Anonymous said...

Great idea. Good going.

Anonymous said...

I think before enacting new laws etc, the Town Board must focus on finances. Any other town or city that hit its citizens with a 20+% tax increase would be scrubbing the books looking to cut costs. But because the majority of the Town resident voters are resident in the Villages, the Town Board does nothing. We TOVers will all remember in 2 years that Paul is doing nothing.

Anonymous said...

Don't fall for the feel-good wishes of the people who want everybody to do what they want. Before enacting any laws get a real view what people think. Do a genuine survey. Don't listen to the relatively few who want everything their way.

Anonymous said...

Instead of passing a Leaf Blower law pass the correct law to bag all leaves.
Why is it that you are afraid to pass laws that would make the roadways safer and cleaner.
Start going thru towns where residents bag their leaves and see the differnce .Our roadway are filthy and dangerous.
By trying this ,maybe you can save money since there will be no overtime for the DPW.
But we all know that you are not the one to talk to about trying to save a buck.
This law would not be carved in stone if it doesn't work it could always be dropped.
Let's see what your take will be on this one.
.People who work six days a week and who want to clean off their property have to to this on Sunday.
You have a time to start work isn't that enough .
Bagging leaves is the best thing to do with or without the leafblower.
Just try to think about it.

Anonymous said...

Peace, calm, right to enjoy our neighborhood. Yes to leaf blower bans.

Anonymous said...

Can we forget about leaves for a while and GO BACK TO THE 20% BUDGET INCREASE.

WHAT IS THE TOWN GOING TO CUT.

POLICE OVERTIME??

Last week the Greenburgh police were helping Tarrytown, this week White Plains. WE CANT AFFORD THIS.

Anonymous said...

in two years there will be no candidate to oppose mr feiner and juettner will be seriously challenged

Anonymous said...

in two years there will be no candidate to oppose mr feiner and juettner will be seriously challenged

Anonymous said...

I am a town employee. There are many jobs that aren't being filled. Employees have to work harder. We're not getting any extra mullah ($)!

Anonymous said...

Well Mr. Town Employee, I dont buy it. For example, why does the Greenburgh Police Department have the time to help out the Villages and WPs. Dont tell me mutual aid. The GPD was helping break up a teenage drinking party in Irvington. And WP is a city, with a big police force. This idea of sharing seems like GPD helping and increasing headcount and OT.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that so many vacant jobs haven't been replaced. Good approach. Keep on saving!

Anonymous said...

Why pass new laws that won't be enforced, like stealing shopping carts from shopping centers and how many tickets are written for driving and talking on cell phones?
Oh I forgot, the cops are either at the hospital doing ems or in the Villages breaking up drinking parties!

Anonymous said...

The only dates that gas-powered leaf blowers should be banned are ozone action days. Other than that, there are more important matters that town management needs to attend to.

Anonymous said...

Dumb. Useless.

No one uses blowers between May and October because there are NO LEAVES. Commercial gas mowers are the noise heard during the Summer months and the sound is intrusive & deafening! I can't stand to be woken up on any morning, including Saturdays, Sundays & holidays at 8am because of the MOWERS! I can not enjoy dinner in my yard because of the MOWERS at 6pm! Limit the use of gas powered MOWERS. This is what disturbs the peace. Not blowers.


Also, pass a law to have leaves BAGGED.

Anonymous said...

Bagging leaves implies that they reached a collection point from which they are placed inside the bag.

Generally, the leaves were blown or raked to arrive at the collection point.

Now we're back to the leaf blower.

Sometimes, the old ways are best.
Raking is not only healthier, less expensive, environmentally friendly but FASTER and quieter. Not that I'm suggesting the collecting leaves of should become an Olympics competition but ever notice how long it takes to move the leaves around with a blower? If it were really a quick job, there would be fewer noise complaints. So let's make it a simple law: The operation of leaf blowers is banned in Greenburgh, all seasons, all months, all days, all hours!

As for lawn mowers, what about speaking to Hertz or Avis about their rent-a-cow program?

Anonymous said...

BY PASSING A LAW TO BAG LEAVES WE WILL HAVE.......
SAFER AND CLEANER ROADWAYS.
LESS MAINTANCE TO OUR CURBS AND ROADWAYS.
SAVE MONEY ON OVERTIME.
ABOVE ALL NO NOISE.
The gardeners will be charging extra money this time arround so many of us will be doing our own cleanups.
Try this out like someone said in a previous comment,you really have nothing to loose.
Many of us have problems with the neighbors gardeners since they blow all there leaves on the surrounding properties.
must we fight with our neighbors all the time because of this.
Gardeners constantly blow leaves across the roadway to other peoples property even though it is an empty lot.
Bagging will stop a lot of the things that we have to swallow in being good neighbors.
The law can be changed if it does not work out.
No one puts the pile of leaves on their lawns,they get all pushed to the curb,but as many of us know that curb has extended to the middle of the road.
The solution to leaf blowers is bagging.


.

Anonymous said...

LOL@ rent-a-cow.

I don't think mowers or blowers should be banned but I really feel strongly that there should be tighter restrictions on use.

I wish that when a new home buyer arrives, the town forward them a guide to exactly what the noise ordinance, along with garbage collections and general guidlines, are. It takes a complant to the town for the newbies to get it.

Anonymous said...

Hello! I am one of those homeowners subject to having my neighbor blow his leaves, back onto my property. Now, if that's not frustrating enough, he seems to have a love affair with his blower and mower and the noise is driving me insane! After a friendly discussion, he agreed to blow and pile his leaves on my property! He believes them to be from my trees! I'm going along with this craziness to keep the peace but the town does not pick up the piles along my property enough, hardly ever, and all is now a giant mess. He wants to blow & mow everyday so that "he can keep ahead of it all" Mows or blows every, single damn day spring to fall. Sometimes 7 or 8 at night! Holy hell!

My once, peaceful, serene, good weather months have been obliterated.

Anonymous said...

I have not one tree on the front of my property but you would never think so.
All my neighbors gardeners blow their leave in my diection to put them curbside.
When this time comes arround in late September there swre no more curbs and the roadways start getting tighter as the time goes by,
This alone should tell the town council that the leaves should be bagged.
But you know what if they do something right for one time they may loose some votes.
This all comes down as to what areas are affected and which ones bring in the most votes.
No one cares that there is no more room on roadways once the leaves are placed curbside.
No one cares if redidents walk daily in the middle of the street because they cannot see where the curbs are.
The Town council is waiting for a fatality to happen before you do something to correct the situation.
Going thru some of the roadways this past year a two lan road became one.
Are your DPW inspectors blind..
Have the leaves bagged and you will see a cleaner greenburgh.

Anonymous said...

I like this compromise proposal. It's a start. Hastings officials devoted substantial time reviewing different proposals and came up with a sensible law.

Anonymous said...

Paul what are you afraid of to pass a law to have all leaves bagged.
I guess you don't care about the filthe on the streets plus all the curbing that has to be replace.
What's money to you.
You would rather have money spent on new curbing ,overtime to do the pickups than to take the best and cheapest way out.

Anonymous said...

"I guess you don't care about the filthe on the streets ..."

This is my fourth year living in Unincorporated Greenburgh, and every year the town has gotten filthier and filthier. It truly baffles me that town management makes the choice to allow the roadways, in particular, to look so dumpy. A simple street-sweeping and weed-wacking schedule is needed. Plus, with all the villages and towns and cities surrounding us so properly maintained, it makes Unincorporated Greenburgh look worse than many sections of the Bronx. (Though at least NYC has an active Bronx action plan for improving roadway cleanliness, which is more than can be said for Unincorporated Greenburgh.)

And regarding lawn-mowing and leaf-blowing, allow it 10am-4pm any day of any month (except ozone action days), period, the end.

Anonymous said...

Speaking about the Bronx they have to bag their leaves,there is no pickups made curbside.
If the Bronx bags the leaves why can't this area do the same.
The board does not want to make enemies in puting forth a trial time to do this.
We could try if it doesn't work it will be changed.
The way the economy is going many home owners will be doing their own cleaning up and you can rest assured they will bag their leaves .
Try it you have nothing to loose
but at least you tried the plan.

Anonymous said...

Sheehan, if Paul won't suggest some other method of taking care of the leaf problem why can't you take the first step.
Yes the blowers are noisey but the problem is not only the mounting of the leaves but residents having to wait for a pickup.
If these leaves were bagged every time the gardeners or the home owners did the work we would have less leaves on the roadways
By puting leaves curbside and adding to the pile every week causes the leaves to be blown right back from where they started and across to other properties.
My property is clear of trees but it seems that i have more leaves on my property than neighbors on both sides and across the road.
I bag all their leaves. Is this fair.
The law should be tried just for one time.If it does not work out we could go back to the method being used today.
Another thing are you going to have the police department go all over the town giving out tickets.
I think they have enough work in doing the jobs at hand at the moment.
Someone has to think of an alternative for the leaf problem.
Bagging will cut the time that one has to use the leaf blower .
Just ponder a while on this idea,since Paul refuses to even answer anyone who has written a comment concerning this on the blog.
.

Anonymous said...

Take this part of the blog off because you will do what you want.
God forbid you should put forth a new law to have the leaves bagged.
You refuse to try something new with this problem which would save money and maybe one day a life.