Hancock Park residents on June Street and McCadden Place were startled to see their beloved street trees chopped down by city crews working over the weekend and yesterday. On June Street, in the 200 South block just south of Third Street Elementary, ten sycamore trees were chopped down to tiny stumps on the school’s side of the street.
Just north, on the 100 N. block of McCadden, more trees were cut down and the stumps were ground down into mulch, making it harder to count the trees and to examine the remaining stump to determine why the trees were cut down. While many of the local trees are stressed from the drought, none of these trees were considered diseased or needed to be removed, according to the Hancock Park Homeowners Association President Cindy Chvatal Keane, who immediately contacted staff at the City Council office to stop further work from being done in the neighborhood.
According to Chvatal Keane, Sarah Dusseault, Chief of Staff to Council Member David Ryu, demanded that Bureau of Street Services cease their tree trimming in Hancock Park as of yesterday evening. However, crews were still trimming trees along Rossmore Blvd. this morning. Â
Hancock Park HOA board member Jennifer Devore was in touch with CD4 staff again this morning, asking for their help to stop the work and for an explanation for the removal of the trees.
“There is no excuse for what the City did. None,” wrote Chvatal Keane in a message to the Buzz. “They are fully aware of the importance of our urban forest. We had just had a huge discussion and numerous meetings with Urban Forestry and the Council Office about saving trees, the HPOZ (which addressed the trees), the light trimming versus hard cuts, stressed trees, the need to retain foliage, telling people to water, etc.”
“The City did not have the right legally to remove a single tree without discussion and review,” wrote Chvatal Keane. “We have evidence that some of the chopped down trees were healthy proving there was no cause for the city to chop down these trees. A shame and a glaring example of irresponsible city management.”
The Buzz contacted Bureau of Street Services spokesperson Elena Stern, who promised to provide an official statement for this story. We will update the story when we receive it.
By coincidence, the Board of Public Works is holding a town hall meeting tomorrow, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Marlborough School (250 South Rossmore), to address issues like street trees, sidewalk repairs,  and more. Council Member David Ryu’s communications director, Estevan Montemayor told the Buzz that this issue has been agendized for the meeting and residents are encourage to attend.
The photos below were taken yesterday evening showing the loss of the trees.
