Brooklynite Wants Stinky Tree Removed

Photo of Gingko Tree at BBG by Wally G

Seeing as how it takes the Parks Dept. 3 to 5 years to deal with tree problems, it's unlikely that Bay Ridge resident Richard Mahany will get the gingko tree that's stinking up his neighborhood removed any time soon. The Brooklyn Paper reports that the man is angry that the tree "dumps its foul-smelling fruit on the sidewalk in front of his 78th Street home."

The 74-year-old says the gingko is a "menace," and (probably whilst shaking his fist in the air) declared: “If the city can refuse to remove the tree, then I can refuse to clean up the mess — it’s a city tree!” He's cleaned up after it for 40 years, but after having quintuple bypass surgery he understandably doesn't have the energy anymore. So the gingko is shedding its odorous fruit onto the sidewalk, which allegedly produce a vomitous odor that goes all the way down 5th Avenue.

Parks Department spokesman Phil Abramson told the paper they stopped planting female gingko trees (males don't smell) after complaints, however they are under no obligation to help out residents who have ended up with one, and it's the responsibility of the homeowner to clean up after it. The homeowner, Mahoney says, “Don’t get me wrong, I love trees. I’m willing to pay for another tree - I just don’t have the energy to keep cleaning this up.” Since the tree is healthy, it looks like residents are stuck with it for a while... but consider it on arboricide watch!

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By Jen Carlson in News on October 21, 2009 10:48 AM

Comments [rss]

stinkie

to:

UM

you are a rude individual, and pussy.

The guy with the tre is 74 years old.

ebad

Parks gets calls everyday from someone wanting their tree removed. Well guess what? Even if the tree smells once a year (and yes they stopped planting female Ginkos 20 some odd years ago- I consider them to be a slice of NYC planning history), a) they are culturally important to a large population of the five boroughs and b) mature trees battle urban temperatures and climate change far better than a sapling. Even though this resident hates the smell, and who doesn't, as an ecologist I think its kind of cool how nature can overpower people sometimes.

stinkie

you are also in la la land. my friend lives next dorr to this man and he can't get out of his house with out getting the stickey

crap on his shoes.

crabbapple

Um, these trees have been around longer than people, deal with it. Or move. Lots of other things drop foul smelling fruit---humans and dogs for example....

loganmo

I recently moved here from DC, which has a large number of these trees. Summer of 2008, the city failed to perform the annual "sterilization" properly....huge chunks of the city reeked like vomit. They are nasty!

the_other_sjp

Ha! This tree is right up the block from me and, yes, its fruit is completely disgusting. I don't blame the guy for wanting it removed.

mellow_fellow

The City foists the problems caused by some trees off on homeowners, and they would like other homeowners to plant new trees? Fuck you, Bloomberg.

walleye

I like the smell of the ginkgo fruit. Yeah, I'm weird. :)

The people collecting them are actually going for the flesh inside the nut.

By the way, it's spelled ginkgo. At first, the misspelling made me think the article was written by Jen Chung. :)

janelle

i'm sure he could hire a neighborhood kid to clean up for a few bucks every once in awhile. those trees to reek, though!

Justine T.

The Chinese put the ginkgo fruit in stir fries and soup and they don't smell in the end. They're really tasty and possess some healing properties, I've heard.

tolu1973

How about hanging a bunch of those pine tree air fresheners on the tree?

jibbly

I forget how they're prepared (I think their boiled or pan roasted), but the end result doesn't really smell. They don't have a really strong taste either. Texture is kind of chewy and might throw some people off.

Trilby16

It's the nut inside that they eat, not the smelly fruit.

felixthecat2

Yes, I have seen some people picking them to cook them . I was shocked.

mmlanglie

Though I, for the most part, miss my tree lined street after I moved from Boerum Hill to DUMBO this summer, but not the freaking Ginko that was right outside of my apartment. Worst thing EVER. I would cross the street to walk around that damn tree. If you even got a tiny bit of those vomit berries on your shoe, that smell would stay with you forever. No no no.

solidago

There's a female gingko tree on 88th Street in Dyker Heights that has been girdled and studded with copper nails (which are supposed to kill trees). That thing is still going strong though!

To me, the smell of the fruit is closest to vomit.

Peter

I'll send him a case of durians.

zodak

he should put it on craigslist: curb alert! free ginko fruit, all natural supplements.

Trilby16

We had one outside my family's home on E. 78th in Manhattan and Asians would dutifully pick up almost all of the stinky fruit. The really prize that stuff for some reason. Maybe this irate guy just needs to get the word out to his local Asians.

JenChungsBaby

There's an older Asian woman in Central Park every morning filling up bags with gingko (stinko) fruit. This guy should call her.

Kojak

lol yes. I've seen this woman every now and then. She's been very busy lately.

MT

The man is right. The fruit from Ginko trees smells like a rotting corpse. I used to look around for dead rats whenever I passed one on the street. It wasn't until later I figured out it was the tree.