The Daily News‘ Kathleen Lucadamo reported that The Montague Street Business Improvement District in Brooklyn Heights has managed – unlike many residents and community groups across the city – to avoid a fine of up to $4,000 for displaying traditional holiday sidewalk adornments.
“A little-known city regulation bars New Yorkers from adorning sidewalk trees without a permit,” writes Lucadamo. Residents who put up tree-lights during December without the permit, are forced to pay a fine.
The Montague Street organization lights up three dozen trees in Brooklyn Heights, free-of-fine, for the first time this holiday season tonight. Chelsea Maudlin, director of the Improvement District, learned of the permit regulation from a tree specialist last year. She describes the application as only half a page.
“I respect the Parks Department’s interest in who is messing around with their trees,” she told The Daily News.
Despite its obscurity amongst New York City residents, the regulation, designed to keep trees healthy, came into being 20 years ago. The fines range from $1,000 to $4,000.
