Look skyward at the treeline around Sloatsburg and you can still see damage from the late October snow storm that blew through the Ramapo Mountains and Rockland County. Trees bent low, heavy with early season snow, snapping branches and taking down power lines. White wood from sheared off limbs and branches is still visible in trees throughout Sloatsburg. Hanging branches have been falling on windy days, so-called widows, because of the danger they pose and damage they can cause.

Mike DeMartino, born and raised in Sloatsburg and now Superintendent of Public Works for the Village, was keeping an eye to the sky. When a recent cold front blew through the area, creating windy conditions and plunging temperatures into the teens, DeMartino drove around the village doing field reconnaissance. He immediately came across a giant limb on Hillside Road in Pine Grove Lakes that had  plummeted streetside, and he knew it was time to call in the big trucks for trimming.

“The majority of the damage was in the Pine Grove area,” said DeMartino, referring to sheered tree tops. “We put together a big work order, five pages worth, and maybe two and half to three pages are for the Grove. The rest of it is sporadic and small.”

This past week a couple of bucket trucks with crews and chippers in tow made their way throughout the village, sub-contracted out by Orange and Rockland, to cut back and clean up remaining October storm damage from trees that might disrupt power lines.

DeMartino said that the O&R work is part of their regular maintenance for Village and Ramapo Township power lines.

“We don’t want anybody to get hurt, that’s the most important thing,” said DeMartino. “We don’t want anybody to lose power, we don’t want to cut trees down unnecessarily just to clear cut. We like the way the village looks in the rural area. So, the tree cutting work is a balance we try to keep.”