Clean-up” by untrained co-op grounds crew leads to cries of “Massacre!” and “Makes me wanna move!
The front yard captured in a 2022 Google map photo.
There’s a red brick house behind all the vegetation, and it’s one of the 1,600 units in my co-op. The owners (actually, we’re “members” since don’t own our units; we just buy the right to live in them) had spent years creating all that screening for privacy, wildlife, and the family’s enjoyment of their front yard.
Then the yearly yard inspection (ironically called the “Beautification Program”) was done by the co-op staff and for reasons we still haven’t figured out, they did this to the property. With no knowledge or consent of the owners.
Now it gives me no pleasure to criticize my (generally well run and certainly fiscally responsible) co-op publicly but this is TOO GOOD an example of the need for training. (And in our case, maybe also a staff change or two.)
The plants destroyed are a large magnolia in front, an old cherry tree, a large Japanese maple near the house, and a hedge of old hollies between this house and the one next door.
Alerted to this disaster by a horrified fellow member, I snapped pictures that I posted to the co-op’s unofficial Facebook group, which resulted in a huge hue and cry and the end of the yard inspection program until it can be fixed for next year, if there is one.
And you thought HOAs were scary!
Co-ops are like HOAs, only with lots more power. But as scary as this overjealous “clean-up” is to gardeners and passersby alike, what I find even scarier are the assessments levied against so many condo members. Today I read about one in Florida where, after the collapse of a multi-story condo in 2021, owners are being assessed about $224,000 each to bring their building up to improved safety standards, per the New York Times (gift link.) I’d call that “Now I HAVE to move” scary!