Hempstead, NY Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Section 184-5 of the Town Code states that no tree shall be planted within the sidewalk area in front of or adjacent to any private premises except trees whose root systems normally will not cause damage to sidewalk, curbs, or utility installations, and it defines that sidewalk area as all land between the curbline of the public highway and the building line of the abutting premises that has been surfaced or improved with concrete or other paving material. Section 184-3 layers a permit requirement on top of that species rule: no tree can be planted or replaced within the curbside area unless it is of a type described in § 184-5, and the Commissioner of Highways issues the permit, applying the same $25 fee for noncommercial property and $150 fee for commercial property that governs removal permits.

When a curbside tree is removed under § 184-2, the replacement tree must have a trunk diameter of at least two inches measured six inches above ground level, and the code states a preference for planting it behind the applicant's property line rather than back in the sidewalk strip. Section 184-4 separately bars covering the curbside strip between sidewalk and curb with a concrete or asphalt cover in business and residential zones, except for authorized curb cuts and aprons or where the strip is narrower than three feet, precisely so planted trees keep room to grow.