Residents distressed by tree removals at school
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

JENNIFER AMATO According to residents of Roosevelt Avenue in North Brunswick, about 100 trees have been removed from the Judd Elementary School property in anticipation of a circular school bus loop and renovations to the building. They are upset about the devastation to the natural area and are wondering why so many trees had to be removed.

NORTH BRUNSWICK - Some residents in the area of Judd Elementary are very upset over the removal of trees in front of the school to make way for the upcoming renovations and additions to the building.

Since late last week, neighbors have claimed that about 100 black oaks, white oaks, maple and sweet gum trees have been removed from the side and front of the property. Superintendent Brian Zychowski said that the trees needed to be cleared because of the construction project at the school. Zychowski could not be reached for further comment.

The trees in front of the school will remain there at the moment, although they may come down in the near future to accommodate plans for a circular bus loop, according to Bill O'Connor, the supervisor of buildings and grounds. The circular driveway would be installed so that students would not have to walk into the street to board their school buses.

However, Roosevelt Avenue resident Suzanne Skodacek, who returned from a mini-vacation after July 4, described the area as "devastated" and said it looks as if a tornado went through town.

"What they're doing is a sin, it absolutely is a sin," she said.

Residents are concerned that the removal will cause a view of unsightly cars and have negative environmental impacts, such as less shade in the area, more flooding due to the roots not holding down soil, and the destruction of animal habitats.

"The trees, when you come out there, are magnificent," Skodacek said. "This is wrong. We're the residents. We live here 24/7 and [now] we have to put up with not looking at the trees."

Instead, Skodacek, who has lived in her house since 1965, suggested that the parking lot by Veterans Park should have been utilized, or possibly areas on the lawn or playground. She said the indigenous trees by Judd are about 100 years old, since they were about 30 to 40 feet tall when she first moved to town and are much taller than trees she had planted back then on her own property.

Although she understands that some trees probably needed to be removed, she doesn't understand why a barrier could not have been left. She is concerned about future summer storms and the flooding that could result, since the street has been known to flood in the past. She claims that years ago, before a second sewer was put in place, the water used to come up to her hips on her 5-foot-9-inch frame.

Besides the effect on nature, residents are annoyed that they were not alerted to the construction project beforehand. Resident Maddalena Little understands that "you can't stop progress," but she said officials should have given notice to the community about the impending plans, and although people may not have been in support of it, they would have been able to give their input.

"To look out the window and just see cars sitting there in parking lots is upsetting," she said, adding that the value of her house may now be depreciated. "Everything gets to be asphalt. … I wish they would leave some [trees] there."