Don't expect the Mayor himself to remove the tree, but someone needs to! Leave this issue OPEN until tree has been taken down as requested. No one to my knowledge has even bothered to inquire or pursue this matter. Thank you.

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I will report this to Forestry so they can investigate.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to call the Mayor’s office at the number below.

Cordially,

Nicholas Soucy
Office of Mayor Virg Bernero
(517) 483-4141

Mr Soucy - We (the neighbors) would greatly appreciate this taken care of. Thank you so much!

Good morning,

I have followed up with the Forestry Division, now that they have taken a look at the tree in question. This is their response:

"The tree is not dead or dying. It does have several splits in the trunk. These are typical of the species and are what we call "frost cracks." Frost cracks can occur during bitterly cold weather similar to what we have experienced recently. We have monitored this phenomenon on these types of trees since the mid-1990’s. Most of the damage looks more alarming than it actually is.

Most of the splits recur at the same location on the tree and only penetrate into the tree several inches. The structure of the tree is typically not adversely affected by these cracks. When the temperatures warm up the cracks begin to close and callus over. In general, while a bit messy, the London Plane tree is a sturdy, strong-wooded street tree."

Based on the Forestry Divisions findings, it does not appear that the tree requires removal, despite its appearance. Thank you for your inquiry.

Cordially,

Nicholas Soucy
Office of Mayor Virg Bernero
(517) 483-4141

Thanks for fixing this issue!

Thanks for the good information. It will be useful to others around the city in the future.

Dear Jan - they didn't fix the issue. And aren't going to. According to Mr. Soucy and the Forestry Division, it's normal for the London Plane to crack, so the tree will remain.