You Say You Don’t Want It But Then You Slip It On In

But when you have to cram in trees everywhere, there may be some resistance:

Some Mott Haven residents are fuming over city plans to plant trees on their block.

The problem, they say, is that the tree roots eventually crack their sidewalks, leaving them stuck with the repair bill.

“If they want a green Bronx, just look in our backyards,” said Marion Rivas of 434 E. 144th St. “We already have trees there. We don’t need them out in front.”

The trees are part of Mayor Bloomberg’s MillionTrees campaign to plant 1 million trees in the city by 2030.

The Department of Parks and Recreation is planning to plant 12 street trees along E. 144th St. between Brook and Willis Aves.

But residents there point to city trees planted across the street that already have ripped up their neighbors’ sidewalks.

“This used to be flat,” said Shawn Ramos, of 443 E. 144th St., pointing to his broken sidewalk. “I’ve seen people trip over this. If someone gets hurt, then we’re the ones in trouble.”

Residents on the south side of the street said it’s only a matter of time before the same thing happens to their sidewalks.

Homeowners also fear that because their sidewalk is 2-feet narrower, fully-grown trees will damage their homes, clog sewer drains and entangle power lines.

Most of all, they worry about footing the bill to fix inevitable upheavals in the sidewalks.

“I spent $1,200 fixing my sidewalk already, because it was old,” said Polivio Hernandez of 428 E. 144th St. “Now they want to put these trees here? What happens if, in a couple of years, the sidewalk is all destroyed again? I don’t want to spend more money.”

Parks officials did not respond directly to neighbors’ concerns about out-of-pocket expenses, instead saying that careful thought goes into each tree planting.