A Long Island man is being fined more than $20,000 for chopping down trees in his own yard.

He says the trees were a danger to his family and property, but officials in his village disagree saying he didn’t go through proper channels and now he has to pay up, reports CBS2’s Elise Finch.

Pericles Linardos has called his Nassau County wooded property in the Village of Muttontown home since he was 12 years old.

He says Superstorm Sandy cracked and split dozens of trees on his property, included several in his front yard that have since been replaced by bushes.

One tree was toppled and damaged six others on its way down, so two months after it happened, he had all seven of them removed.

Linardos says the tree experts he consulted said it was necessary to make his property safer.

That’s when the conflict began, as did the fines.

Muttontown Village Attorney Steven Leventhal says cutting down a tree in this northshore community is like polluting beaches on the South Shore.

The village code regulates the removal of trees with a diameter of 7 inches or more, and a permit is required for removal unless it’s an emergency.

“We got a phone call,” said Leventhal. “Our arborist went out saw the trees already down. He said they were healthy.”

The law calls for a removal fine of $250 per tree-inch measured across the diameter.

In this case that adds up to $22,500, and if Linardos doesn’t pay, he faces 15 days in jail.

The two sides have been battling this out in court for the past five years.

The village attorney says Linardos isn’t the only homeowner to violate the tree removal law and be charged hefty fines – he’s just the only one who refuses to pay.

Linardos is adamant he’d rather go to jail than pay unfair fines.

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how people live in these places is beyond my understanding. If I live in a town that has it own arborist who is consulting on whether I can cut down a tree or not, there will be house for sale sign in my yard.

Fu ck em.

Haven’t we had a few killed in NY State by falling trees in recent years? I wouldn’t want to live anywhere near those type of rules.

Commies love to control each and every aspect of your life. It's what they do.

Long Island = New York City....... That explains it.

Ah, the local tree Taliban...

I'd take the 15 days. $1500/day isn't bad wages.

Inlaws had to go to the 'Shade Committee' before they could remove a damaged tree oak in their yard. They live in PA and they will continue to vote democrat all the time bitching about regulations.

Never not funny

New York is in need of radical ballistic surgery.

I don't think that wipes out the fines. I believe they will still go after him for the money. The 15 days is the muscle to make him pay up. They want that money. It's for the children.

So the village wants to assume liability for every tree over 7"? Thinking they are not thinking that one through.

Their children maybe or maybe they're the children, just not human ones.

No. Not liability, just control. You know better than that.

I understand control, but with control comes liability. Making something difficult or expensive just makes the liability issue more obvious.

the folks down in atlanta proper regulate the removal of trees like there's no tommorrow. plenty pricey if the rules & regs aren't followed to a T.

maintaining trees in a city environment is not a cheap, low-cost enterprise any longer.

but, they're interested in shade coverage, something about the global warming scare that infects some people.

"Muttontown Village Attorney Steven Leventhal"

Enough said.

Yep, trees belong to everyone . I wonder if they screamed when they were cut down by that bad man?

Leventhal...yep. Enough said.

Governments are all for taking control but not responsibility. If that man's tree falls and puts a hole in his roof, he better have insurance for that, because the city will not pay for it. Cities can mandate sidewalks but if someone falls on one and breaks their leg, it's the homeowner who gets sued, not the city who often have clauses that specifically deny liability for those things they mandate or control. You better have a great lawyer and lots of money to beat city hall and most times you won't even if you try.

KFWA: FFS!
This is simply more proof that liberalism is a mental disease.
Sheesh.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

If the United States needed an enema.....it could be inserted in New York City....or New Orleans, Louisiana!!

Long Island is not NYC... notice the "village" thing?

It is part of Teddy Roosevelt's home town and quite a way from NYC. Good old Progressive Teddy would probably love it!

Chilren . . . . FIFY

IN SPADES!!

Well, to be technical, a couple of the boroughs of NYC are on Long Island proper. Albeit, not the place in question.

Sounds like Maine. They threatened me with the same thing for clearing out a bunch of dead alders in my own back yard that had caught a blight.

New York Village "Justice Courts"

Or Los Angeles. Even though it’s on the other coast, it’s in the same anatomical position.

The 5 boroughs of nyc are, manhattan.the bronx,brooklyn,queens,staten island......long island is.kings,queens,nassua, and ,suffolk counties.
the difference between nyc and upstate are as different as night and day.the problems are the same,say,as californians moving to idaho and bringing their liberal nonsense with them.the real liberal nut jobs destroyed their nyc neibhorhoods with liberal crap,turned them into dangerous hell holes,then moved upstate and brought their liberal views with them,then destroyed suburbia too.as the song says," no where to run to,no where to hide".
Its hard to move from the place you call home,your friends,your family,your job,are here.every thing your comfortable with,is here.i have been trying to move for a few years now.i have come to dispise new york.everytime i think i ve got it ready,something else happens,for example,next month my wife and i are going to look at houses in new hampshire where we have friends and family.we love it there.still feels free."live free or die".
yesterday my mother in law called at 5 am .was haveing trouble breathing.my wife takes her to the hosp.she has irregular heartbeat,they do chest mri and see a tumor in one lung.when they tell her,she has a heart attack on the spot,is in cardiac care unit now.there is no way in hell my wife is going to move when her mother is sick.as much as we want to move,as much as we need to move,its not always easy to do.i worked in every s ..hole in nyc for 27 years.i ve seen some bizzare stuff in my time.i could never live there.i meet plenty of good decent guys that do,police,firemen,city workers,etc. That hate the liberal crap too,how do you leave a good union job with pension and medical benefits when you ve only got 10 years left?its not so easy.your born here,your raised here.things have changed for the worse for sure and people are leaving in droves.voting with their feet and taking their tax dollars with them.i feel like i ve got one foot out the door already.its not always easy to just up and move.i know i ve been trying for a few years.i ll get there.

Amazingly repulsive. I never knew such things existed in America, and if so, only in a remote backwoods boss hog setting no one knew about.

Here it the local dictatorship of La Grange you cannot cut your own live oak trees. Can't cut em down either.

Thankfully I ignore that ordinance but it is another nail in the lid of the coffin for my respect of .gov, small or large.

go easy on New Orleans...that's my favorite town to drink in

So , can you cut your own dead oak trees ?


Mike

By name and description, it looks as though Pericles Linardos is a mature male of Greek lineage. He has taken a stand - in this case, a tree stand. I would bet that Attorney Steven Leventhal will fail this time.

It is amazing and that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Ditto. Cut a couple down in my rural yard a year or so ago. Township came by and said I needed a permit, and now face a fine 2x the initial cost of the permit. I politely provided them with the one-finger salute followed by verbiage that left no doubt in their mind as to my feelings on the matter.

To date I have not seen any fine(s) nor has anyone from the Township approached me about it since. I plan on removing a couple more dead trees this year . . . . without a permit!

I'll just stay out of NY period.

By reading our ordinance, if its a dead live oak, no.

Yep, and personally I couldn't care less what happens to any of those ass holes.

Boss Hawg. ROTFLMAO, had not heard that one in some time. May start using that reference daily here at work.

. Wha? "Rural" yard and your township sez ya gotta have a permit??? WTH? Good man...

Goforit... I'd do the very same..

If you didn't read the link you should, unless you're planning to go to New York. It might change your plans.

Which town in Maine?

I thought that dictatorship employed you?

NY is never in my plans. But you made me read part of the link. Sounds about like where I work right now. Damn shame it is. Hopefully I won't be here much longer, I can't stand it much longer.

Currently they do. Crooks.

Jackman

I better stay in Iowa. lol

Some folks are so slow they just never catch up.......

Jackman.

Sorry about the double post.

Jackman, population 862, is in the middle of nowhere.

I can’t see anyone caring about anything up there.

Further, Alders are almost not trees, more a tree-like bush. There’s got to be more to this story.

He should have drilled a hole in the trunk below ground, poured round up in the hole. That tree would die before long.

No, actually there's not. Have you ever lived there? I did for eight years. Get back to me when you have.

There is a "brook" that you can step across in the yard that dries up in the summer. The inspector tried to say I was in violation because it's considered waterfront property, I told him to get bent. One of the most annoying oppressive and intrusive local governments I've ever had to deal with of anyplace I've ever lived. They regulate the piss out of everything you do there. Go ahead and run afoul of that state for one penny less than what they say you owe them, be it tax or fine, or violate some stupid local ordnance, or even give the impression that you've violated it and see what happens.

I love the state but hate the state government. One big reason I left. That was fifteen years ago or so. My best friend left last year. Typical welfare state. Anyone who is productive and works hard to make a decent living is treated as though they owe everyone who doesn't a living.

If the city arborist or officials had any trees on their property over 7", I'd make damned sure every last one mysteriously had been spiked with copper nails.

When you need a permit to cut down a tree on your own property, you no longer live in America.

Cutting a tree on your own property with no hazards around shouldn't be an issue, However, if the tree could fall on to something hazardous such as a house or power lines I think it would be prudent to at least check with someone who has the knowledge and experience to avoid trouble.

I agree the government should stay out of it. If they are so enamored with the trees, they should help pay for the upkeep too.

Democrat New Mexico is better than that was?

Believe it or not yes it is. I know at least I haven't received any phone calls at home telling me I had to go to town hall and renew my dogs registration or face a fine since I've been here...

Yep, NE is a special, special place. Glad you got out

holy chit...I find that hard to believe, but then life sneaks on you now and then! Great to hear!

Those that are fed up with .gov, just think if you were in my shoes and saw the inner workings for over 15 years and have been screwed out of a number of years of my retirement on a crappy technicality and a BIG LIE at that.... my fault for not catching it I know... but... I can get over the years... but how they get folks, under the guise of helping them is beyond me.

But we are self sufficient country folks my wife and I and our families and we never asked for or expected help, handouts and lived by the golden rule. Those bastards that live in towns or communities get all kinds of other stuff shoved down their throats at an expense.

Thank you buddy. So am I. I wouldn't move back for all the tea in China. People who haven't lived there or many who do but never lived anywhere else just don't realize how bad it is. It's a shame because it is a beautiful area.

It floors me when I read of places where you have to have your dog licensed every year.

My wife telling me about living/working in Philly. She had to pay Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, and City Income Tax. WTFO

Her inheritance was taxed almost 5% when her dad died and her sister had to pay the tax on her 'half' of the house. Crazy how people will live in such sheitholes and continue to feed the government and let them rule over them.

Oh, don't even get me started on the local excise tax on vehicles. Basically every year you pay the town a tax on every registered vehicle you own based on its sale price when you bought it. I'm talking about a sales tax above and beyond the state and fed that ou paid when you first bought your vehicle. And it's annual in Maine. Look it up. It could amount to thousands.

I know of places that do that and it's nuts. Why so many happily live in all those sheitholes is beyond me. Shows just how ignorant and apathetic people are.

You can't hear the: "Me. me, me", cries emanating from San Francisco?

Where I live in Western WA one cannot cut down trees without a lot of paperwork and money to get the permit.

One finds out in a hurry that your trees are not your trees.

I had trees removed before the rules got stricker. I still had to supply a geologic study on land stability.

Those are in the backyard of a 1/4 acre lot.

Careful with that, apparently there are some on this board that will find that hard to believe and question your veracity...

I hunt up north of the Golden Road and sometimes stop for fuel in Jackman. I never would have imagined anyone would give you trouble for cutting trees in your yard up there.

Like I said, this was fifteen years ago and it wasn't because it was a tree. It was because I had cleared the dead alders near what they considered a "waterway". Never mind that it was a seasonal brook you could step across in my own backyard no less.

Another time, one of my buddies got a visit at his house from the local "Fire Marshall" for burning leaves and brush in his yard without a burn permit. I'm not talking about a full on bonfire size blaze. It was hardly more than a campfire.

In NY, not only can you not kill a criminal that threatens your family, you can't even kill a tree that threatens your family.

I know you're serious, but at the same time I'm thinking, 'you gotta be chittin' me'... An annual tax on a (or every) vehicle you own - other than the normal plates????

Eff that..


Good Lord.. WTH's gone wrong in this country? Freedom? What freedom?

City or state law?

We gave women the vote, let them into government and now everything is mommy may I. Whether it's to conduct business, or dealing with your property.

Sickening isn't it? I'm sure he founding fathers are rolling in their graves. How the hell did we get so far from what they fought to create?

Then we can talk about property taxes. We paid 7500 dollars for our 100 acres in the 60s.

We pay approximately 7000 a year in taxes on the land plus 2 houses and some sheds.

We buy it back every year damn near literally in one aspect.

Property taxes should NOT exist, period.

That is a core belief written into my DNA. I want that carved into my gravestone. As long as property taxes exist, no one but the government owns property. The concept of private ownership is myth. You think you own your home? Quit paying paying your property tax and see how long you remain a homeowner. . .

Exactly, add it to sales tax etc... but property tax is one of the worst things this country has in place.

My wife is a county appraiser for such and there isn't a single person in that office anymore than thinks property taxes should exist. Much less the stupid rules they have to follow as appraisers set in place by the state.

And the taxing entities then NEVER reduce rates... even if the value goes up, they won't reduce the rates they "charge" for the value.

I live in NY and I've cut down alot of trees on my property without a permit or anybody's permission. Until now I'd never heard of such a thing. And licensing a dog ? Who knew ? That must be just for townies and city folks.

I think you are crossing your signals. The dog registry thing was something I posted about in Maine and I can assure you it has nothing to do with being "a townie or city folk". It's state wide from the smallest towns like Jackman, to the largest cities like Portland.