UPDATE: Ravensdale Bridge, the Old Maple and the Holiday Star

Dear Everyone,

When you headed into the Village over the Ravensdale Bridge during the holidays, the Landry’s house—the first on the right--would greet you every year with a star, lit up in the top of the large old maple tree out in front. This maple had been growing there since the 1940’s when the bridge was built. The star too had been a beacon for years now, and people have even pulled off the Parkway to thank the Landry’s for this holiday cheer.

The State had graciously agreed to try to save that tree during our conversations last summer, but unfortunately construction is messy, and reality got in the way. Con Edison’s electrical feeders hang under the bridge, and the plan from the start was for these feeders to be relocated to the temporary bridge, and then moved back when the final bridge was in place. There were delays in the Comptrollers’ approval of the project at the beginning of this year, and in addition, Con Edison has a moratorium on projects like this at the beginning of the summer so they can focus on keeping up with the demands of air conditioning. The contractor, ECCO III, was up against a hard deadline. If they missed the deadline, it would add another year to this project. They proposed instead to relocate the Con Edison feeders one time only, under the Saw Mill River Parkway, and leave them there for good. The New York State Department of Transportation agreed.

The problem was that the proposed feeder location went right through the old maple, and there weren’t any other feasible options: running it along the south side of the Bridge wouldn’t work because there is a wetland there, that is where the temporary bridge is going, and the manholes are on the north side of the bridge.

The New York State Department of Transportation approached the Landry’s, as the tree was in front of their house, and asked their permission to take it down. Val Landry, who is also President of Community Tree Surgery, certainly knows his trees. He gave them permission since he fully understood the problem and saw there were no alternatives. In exchange, the State will replace the maple with several trees of at least a 4” caliper. Val was also able to save the star, and he already has some new tree candidates he’s considering hanging it from during the holidays to come.

We know this bridge renovation process is a painful and sometimes disappointing process for many of you, and we appreciate you bearing with it. It’s going to be beautiful when it is done, and we will all be able to watch healthy trees grow up to create a magnificent canopy over the Bridge again.

A few highlights you can put in your calendars to look forward to, and we will post exact dates as they approach:

Starting this Summer: