Yorktown's Fallen Tree Pick-Up Plan Hits A Snag

YORKTOWN, N.Y. - Many marked trees that fell during Hurricane Sandy will not be immediately picked up because Yorktown could not find an outside company to take on the job.

Yorktown was unable to find a company to pick up and remove trees that are marked with a white
X." — Yorktown was unable to find a company to pick up and remove trees that are marked with a white X."

by Brian Marschhauser

02/12/2013 12:01 a.m.

The town put out a request for proposal in December, but Town Board member Nick Bianco said not a single company bid for the contract because of prevailing wage costs under government contracts.

“Basically what happens is, I was talking to one of the tree guys in town and he said ‘I would have to pay my guys $75 an hour because they’re doing work for the town, when I normally only pay them $40 an hour," he said.

Yorktown's Highway Department has been assisting with the pick-up in the interim, but the department does not have the resources to move the larger trees. Bianco said the Town Board has not held detailed discussions about the next step in the tree pick-up.

“The Highway Department has been doing as much as it can," Bianco said. "And we need to figure out something else.”

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