Last week, members of the East Hampton Village Department of Public Works removed about 35 arborvitae, each anywhere between 20 and 30 feet tall, that separated Herrick Park from the Douglas E. Dayton Arboretum, the 3.2 acres of land at the end of Muchmore Lane that was purchased by the Town of East Hampton starting in 2017 with community preservation fund money.
The Star was alerted to the removal when a resident messaged a video of one of the 25-foot trees crashing down under the heading, “Destruction of Herrick Park.” Based on online commentary, many seemed surprised by the work.
The land was sold to the town by Ralph Dayton, whose father, Douglas Dayton, was a former village mayor. In an email, Mr. Dayton wrote, “The removal of those trees without consulting the public and all concerned organizations was a very poor decision on the part of this administration.”
“There’s no question that the L.V.I.S. and Village Preservation Society should have been consulted prior to the removal of any trees,” Mr. Dayton wrote. “In fact, both of those organizations should have a seat at the table of any consequential conversation relating to this village. There should have been, as the previous administration did, consultation with a land design professional, whose plan should have been presented at a public meeting and open for public comment.”
In a statement yesterday, the L.V.I.S. said it had “reviewed the planning and circumstances involving the removal of the arborvitaes . . . with both the Town and the Village of East Hampton. Although it is understood that the removal of the plantings was included in the overall redesign of Herrick Park, L.V.I.S. does believe that advance notice and evaluation would have been optimal. The maintenance of town and village-owned trees is a central part of the organization’s mission and the LVIS will continue to assist its government partners in keeping East Hampton beautiful.”
“The trees we removed were not specimen trees. They were horrible looking trees,” Mayor Larsen said in a phone call. “It’s always been part of the plan to open up the park onto the Dayton property, which we spent $10 million to get, to make it one seamless park.”
The 2017 C.P.F. purchase included three lots adjacent to Herrick Park; 14 and 16 Pleasant Lane and 25 Muchmore Lane. After the purchase, the town gave the village “the sole right and responsibility to manage, maintain, supervise, and control” the land. Together, the three lots comprised a 2.78-acre gift to the village. A management agreement was signed on Aug. 7 of that year, between Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., and Larry Cantwell, then the town supervisor.
A fourth lot, at 21 Muchmore, contained a residence where Eileen Dayton, Mr. Dayton’s mother, lived until July 2020. The house was built by Mr. Dayton’s grandparents. That lot was sold to the town at the end of 2021, with a covenant and restriction attached so that the four contiguous lots would forever be known as the Douglas E. Dayton Arboretum.
According to David Collins, the village’s superintendent of public works, the hedge hadn’t been removed sooner “for privacy’s sake,” as Mrs. Dayton was still in residence at 21 Muchmore. “Once we had the property and the house was taken down, it was only a matter of time before we opened it. It was in the original LaGuardia plan, and in the phase one plan too.” He was referring to an original plan for the Herrick Park redo by the LaGuardia Design Group.
However, a phase one rendering provided by the village this week did not list the row of arborvitae as existing or to be removed. “That’s really phase three,” said Mayor Larsen, of the arboretum. He explained that phase one of the Herrick Park renovation included the fields and tennis courts, phase two the area that juts out to Newtown Lane, and phase three the Dayton properties and another one acquired on Muchmore Lane.
The town wanted to add the fourth lot to the existing management agreement once 21 Muchmore was acquired, but after the village asked to make modifications to the agreement, the town did the same. That new agreement has yet to be signed.
However, the work done on the arborvitae was at the 25 Muchmore parcel, and, since that lot fell under the 2017 management agreement, which was never nullified, the village was within its rights to remove the trees, according to Scott Wilson, the town’s director of land acquisition and management.
Mr. Dayton said he and Mr. Wilson discussed removing the trees years ago, but that “never, in my wildest dreams, would I have done so without having an overall plan for the arboretum and full public input and approval.”
Dave Collins, the superintendent of public works, said it had long been discussed that the arborvitae would be removed.
“My goal is to remove as much of the chain-link fence as we can,” he said. “It’s hideous” and in poor condition. “Those trees had grown up through the fence. We also opened the corner up for safety purposes. Especially with it getting dark at 4:30 at night now, people wanted that opened up.”
“That fence belonged around a prison, not a park in East Hampton,” said Michael Tracey, the village police chief. “People who had to walk that path at night to get to their cars after work, expressed many times through the years that it was dark and narrow back there. It’s going to be safer now,” he said.
“It’s a beautiful property with specimen trees and our goal has always been to make it accessible to the public,” said Mr. Collins. “Doug did a beautiful job with his gardens. I just wish his flowers were still there.”
Mr. Dayton did not have an issue with the arborvitae being removed, rather the manner in which the work was done. “If people were given due notice, it’s probable that they would have concluded the trees should come out. But simply because that’s the logical conclusion doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be discussed with the public.”
“Jerry ran on this idea that East Hampton Village had become the village of ‘no.’ But under his leadership it’s become the village of do whatever the hell you want. The pendulum has swung too far,” said Mr. Dayton.
“That arboretum belongs to the public,” he said. “Not to the mayor and the village board.”
“Nothing has been locked in yet,” said Mayor Larsen, about the Dayton properties. He cited a recent survey about incorporating a dog run in the park but noted there didn’t seem to be much enthusiasm for the idea. “We might just put some benches in there and not do much of anything with it.”
