No decision has been made on a request by MRL Realty, 1500 Old Northern Blvd. to legalize the removal of trees. The Village of Roslyn board of trustees will continue public hearings on the subject at its next meeting, now scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The controversy began when MRL personnel had a number of trees on its property cut down while the company was doing a general cleanup of the area. MRL is located in the Harborview Shopping Center.

At a recent board of trustees meeting, an assistant manager for MRL explained her company's position. Mary Green said MRL personnel had felt it was necessary to conduct a general cleanup of the area where its building is located. She said people in the area were complaining about "overflowing" branches from the trees in question. The white pine trees that were cut down, Ms. Green said, were "totally dead" when the tree cutting took place. She also said MRL had submitted its cleanup plan to the village.

Mayor John Durkin said the village had received no such plan. In question also was a long-established covenant between MRL and the village, plus village law mandating that commercial property owners need permits from the village building inspector before any tree can be cut down.

BOT members said the covenant between MRL and the village calls for the area to remain "undisturbed." In addition to a lack of a permit, the tree cutting violated the terms of the covenant, especially in regard to maintenance of the property. BOT members expressed their concern about not only the damage to the trees, but also damage to the property in general around 1500 Old Northern Blvd.

Even though no action has been taken, BOT members noted that village law calls for a fine of $1,000 to be levied for each tree that is cut down. Village Attorney John Spellman said the village takes the tree cutting incident "very seriously," adding that it may ask for a New York State Supreme Court injunction against the property in question. That injunction would nullify MRL's ability to use the property for any purpose. Ultimately, MRL's occupancy itself could be in jeopardy.

Several local residents attended the Jan. 15 meeting to express their own concerns about the general state of affairs in the area. Of importance to such homeowners is the maintenance of a buffer zone between the businesses and Sinclair Martin Drive. Diana Marcus said that residents had "fought long and hard" for such a buffer zone to be constructed. The Sinclair Martin Drive side of the fence is maintained by the village, she said, and even though there was garbage in the area in question, the trees cut down were "lovely." Ms. Marcus said that building and maintaining an effective buffer zone should be a top priority for village officials. Another resident, Andrea Kauffman, agreed that the buffer zone needs better maintenance. She also said that the tree cutting was done quickly, in less than a day's time. Cathy Trezza added that viaduct construction in the village will mean even more trees being cut down, a project that will lead to an even longer buffer zone for the village to help maintain.