Marquis of Debris: 'Orphan' trees still looking for a home

CITY OFFICIALS told Kensington residents at a meeting in late January that if they didn't want about 150 trees planted at McPherson Square Park, then the city would find somewhere else to plant them.

Imagine the surprise yesterday morning, when residents found seven young trees plopped onto the grounds on F Street near Indiana Avenue before anyone had a chance to discuss plans for rejuvenating the park.

The area is rife with blatant drug activity, and the park - scene of a fatal shooting last month - is dark enough at night without the extra tree cover, neighbors say.

Curtis Helm, a Parks and Recreation project manager, said Bustleton Services, a Bensalem-based contracting company, was told that the plan had to be reviewed by neighbors before any trees were to be planted there.

"He [the contractor] did this on his own initiative since he had apparently overordered these trees and needed to find homes for them," Helm said in an email.

Contractors working at the park yesterday morning had a map of the grounds that plotted the locations where trees were to be planted.

Jerry Robinson, project manager at Bustleton Services, said no one told his crew not to plant the trees until seven were in the ground.

"If anything is being planted against the city's will, it's something I don't know about and haven't heard about," Robinson said. "We are a professional company. We do things by the book."

Robinson said that his workers would return to McPherson Square today to remove the trees and that Bustleton Services would likely have to eat the roughly $1,200 cost of removing them and find a place to temporarily store them.

Neighbors say that the plan to plant trees at the park is likely well-intentioned but that many are reluctant to support the idea without first seeing extra lights or security cameras installed.

Robinson was unaware of neighbors' anxiety over safety at McPherson Square, but said they have legitimate reasons to be concerned, considering the park's dubious reputation.

Last night, two children at the park said they're used to kicking used needles away from the playground, or carefully picking them up to throw them away.

"It seems like you need 24-hour security or surveillance there," Robinson said. "That area's been known to be that way for years. It's a tough situation for everybody."

The plan to plant trees at McPherson Square is part of a larger push to plant trees throughout North Philadelphia this spring, thanks to a grant from PENNVEST, which funds projects aimed at improving environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects.

Michael DiBerardinis, deputy mayor for environmental and community resources, said the city would continue meeting with neighbors near McPherson Square about plans for the park's future.

"We're not trying to pull a fast one," he said.

The Friends of the McPherson Square Library are set to meet in the basement of the branch today at 5 p.m.