Mayor Danial H. Pronti has made a strong commitment to beautifying the Borough of North Arlington. Over the years, even before he became mayor, he has championed getting all kinds of grants so trees could be purchased — and placed in strategic locations.
But if any resident homeowners want a new one for their properties, they’re available too — and all owners need to do is sign up to get on a list.
Then, once it can be proved that the homeowner has the right to plant a new tree, the borough’s Department of Public Works will come out to put the new trees in the dirt sometime this spring.
Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it?
Well, it’s not quite that easy because the borough’s arborist — yes, there is such a position in North Arlington — must first determine where the new tree should go (a specific curbside location).
This is done, the mayor says, to ensure the trees are placed in location that will not lead to sidewalks buckling and that will not cause any issues with utility lines that are in the surrounding areas.
“We’ve been doing this for about 2 1/2 years,” the mayor said. “We’ve already planted about 300 new trees throughout the borough.”
Pronti says the funding for the trees generally comes from Open Space Grants.
The trees that are planted — there are three types, Cleveland Pears, Red Sunset Maples and Zellovas — are generally small.
Though they remain the property of the borough, it becomes the homeowners’ responsibility, once they’re planted, to care for the trees.
They’ll need to be watered a lot initially.
“We do all this because we’re thinking ahead 30, 40 years,” Pronti said. “We want the borough to look beautiful now and down the line. It’s important to think ahead and to think the right way so the trees look great for years and decades to come.”
Meanwhile, Pronti also he says he hopes to go beyond the current planting program.
Should all go according to his plan, he wants to plant Cherry Blossoms along River Road on borough property and parks.
“They’re beautiful trees and will look tremendous in North Arlington,” Pronti said.
Are you a North Arlington homeowner interested in planting a new tree in front of your property? Call the North Arlington Department of Public Works at 201-955-5665. Let the person who answers know you want to be put on the list for a new tree.
You can also be added to the list by visiting Pronti’s mayoral Facebook page — at www.facebook.com/DanielHPronti — and adding your address to his post about the tree program. (As of presstime, it’s the top post on the page.)
The Observer’s Kevin Canessa may be reached at kc@theobserver.com. Feedback is welcome and encouraged.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.