Cobblestone and Greek Revival houses along Main and Lake streets came with sugar maples planted about the same time the walls went up, which puts a lot of those trees past 150 years old. They carry serious deadwood. Slate and old standing-seam roofs sit right under the drip line, so a limb that lets go doesn't just land in the yard. We usually set the crane in the street on the Rt 5 side and pick the wood out over the house rather than rigging off a trunk that's already hollow at the union.
Out past the village it's a different job entirely. Field trees standing alone in row crop have no neighbors holding them up, so they hinge oddly on the takedown. Along Oatka Creek the banks undercut and lean maples toward the water. Near the quarry ground there's often thin soil over limestone, which is why a healthy-looking tree can tip roots and all in one storm.
Working around the old Main Street canopy
Can you get a crane onto a narrow village lot?
Usually yes. Most Main and Lake street lots are deep and narrow, so we work from the road and reach over instead of driving equipment between houses. If the reach won't work, it becomes a climbing and rigging job.
Do you come out to LeRoy for a single storm-damaged limb?
We do. It's a straight run from Rochester on I-490 to Thruway exit 47, so a one-limb call out here isn't a problem the way it is in the far corners of the county.