Queens Residents Want "Vomit" Smelling Ginkgo Street Trees Removed

"The stench is horrible – it’s like a combination of dog excrement and vomit. “It’s a nauseating smell.”

Queens residents want the Parks Department to remove smelly female ginkgo biloba street trees the agency planted years ago. The Parks Department is not budging.

Queens

What’s that smell?

Some residents in Queens are fuming over stinky trees planted by the city. The Parks Department acknowledged that it’s a problem, but has refused to fix it, reports CBS 2′s Tony Aiello.

When John Foertsch walks his dog, he steps gingerly to avoid the funky-smelling fruit of the female ginkgo biloba trees. When you step on one, your nose knows immediately.

“The stench is horrible – it’s like a combination of dog excrement and vomit,” Foertsch said. “It’s a nauseating smell.”

Years ago, the city planted six female ginkgo biloba trees along Langdale Street. The trees drop a bumper crop of fruit each fall.

“The fruit is pretty repulsive,” said Fred Gerber, an expert at Queens Botanical Garden.

Gerber said that’s why the females shouldn’t be planted in residential areas.

“Usually they’re planted by mistake, and of course the males don’t have any fruit, so those are the ones you usually see on the street,” Gerber said.

The city, however, is refusing to remove the female trees on Langdale Street.

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‘Vomit’ Smell From Trees Annoys Queens Residents

WCBS - November 19, 2010 - By Tony Aiello