Resident Clear Cuts 66 Trees, Inundating Neighbors Below

In perhaps one of the most egregious incidents of tree destruction that we’ve seen, Mohican Trail residents removed 66 trees on a steep slope to accommodate a basketball court.

The clear cutting did more than destroy the view from the homes below. It caused significant erosion and mud slides into the yards, pools and streets.

The surprising fact is that the residents removed the trees with the approval of the Village.

That’s right. Scarsdale Village signed a permit to remove 39 Norway Maples, 22 dead or diseased deciduous trees and 5 native deciduous healthy trees to build a sports court.

Here’s the note on the property record below:

February 27, 2024

“REMOVAL OF 66 TREES CONSISITING OF 39 INVASIVE NORWAY MAPLES, 22 DEAD DISEASED NATIVE DECIDUOUS TREES, AND 5 NATIVE DECIDUOUS TREES WHICH ARE HEALTHY. (REMOVAL LIST ATTACHED) PROPERTY CONTAINS TEN TREES WHICH WERE FLAGGED BY VILLAGE ARBORIST TO BE PRESERVED AND PROTECTED. (PROTECTED LIST ATTACHED) ARBORIST REPORT PROVIDED. FIVE (5) REPLACEMENT TREES REQUIRED FROM GROUP A OR GROUP C OF VILLAGE LIST.”

About the Village Code that allows Norway Maples to be removed without a permit, the neighbor writes, “Norwegian Maples were planted widely in Westchester in the 1700’s to replace the trees that had succumbed to Duthc Elm disease. The trees were hearty, growing tall, and providing a beautiful canopy.”

The residents on Mohican Trail were supposed to plant replacements for some of the downed trees, but instead they have applied for a special use permit to build a 2,200 square foot sports court on the steep slope which a neighbor says will “exacerbate stormwater flooding, environmental degradation and “cause significant harm to the use, enjoyment and value of our property and the properties of neighbors.” The tree permit application has not been closed.

The downhill neighbors has submitted documentation, photos and videos that show water coursing down the slope, spewing mud onto her patio and into her pool. The photos of the flooding of the street are even more dramatic.

Read letters from neighbors here:

(Update) The application to build the sports court at 12 Mohican Trail was approved unanimously by the Scarsdale Zoning Board on June 11, 2025.