Residents stumped by fallen trees

Local residents say Penn students are responsible for two trees cut down before their time on Baltimore Avenue. If a tree is chopped down on Baltimore Avenue and no one is around to see it, will the perpetrator still be caught? That is the question on the minds of the many community members in University City who are outraged that two saplings were cut down on the 3900 block of Baltimore Avenue early in the morning on April 20. "The reaction was one of total fury," said Mike Hardy, a project team member for Baltimore in Bloom, a group that has spent countless hours planting trees and flowers in the area. "Does someone have to burn the building down before people look into this type of behavior?" The trees have special meaning for many residents because they were planted by 25 neighbors and Penn students as part of one of the first joint projects between Baltimore in Bloom and UC Green, a University initiative aimed at improving West Philadelphia through planting and gardening. The two saplings were part of a set of 10 purchased by University City Housing two years ago to line Baltimore Avenue. "We're doing a lot of work to beautify the neighborhood and this kind of thing really touches a nerve with us," UC Green Director Esaul Sanchez said. Eugene Dempsey, one of the few permanent residents of the 3900 block of Baltimore Avenue, was the first to discover the damage when he came home from work at 2 a.m. and saw the two Honey Locust trees lying on the ground. Dempsey questioned a student -- who, at the time, was sitting by himself on the porch of one of the two houses that faced the saplings -- but the student denied seeing anyone touch the trees. He insists, however, that as he was speaking to the student, he heard a chopping sound coming from the back of the house. Dempsey then retreated into his house to call the police. Both the Philadelphia and University Police departments responded within minutes and investigated the scene. The Penn Police detective assigned to the case was unable to be reached for comment last night. "We saw trees that were chopped in the backyard," said Dempsey, who accompanied the officers in back of the houses. College senior Max Good, the student who was sitting on the porch at 2 a.m. Thursday night and spoke to Dempsey, said that he heard nothing. "I was actually sitting on the porch and we went inside," Good said. "When we came back out, we saw that it had been done." College junior Chad Parmet, a resident of the house in question, said he went to bed early that night and didn't hear any chopping noises. "We didn't hear anything," Parmet said. "I got woken up when a couple of cops accosted us." University Police are investigating the crime and have been questioning residents of the 3900 block of Baltimore about the vandalism. In the meantime, many community members are fuming and have already decided, despite the lack of conclusive evidence, that students cut down the trees. "This was perpetrated by the students," Sanchez said. "The community decided that students are responsible, but landlords are also responsible." Sanchez, who is an area resident, said that residents made several angry phone calls to the landlord who owns the house in question. University Enterprises, which manages the twin house across from one of the trees that was chopped down, has agreed to cover the costs of replacing the trees. "We certainly want to keep the neighborhood looking beautiful," said University Enterprises Owner Steve Herman, who denied that paying for new trees was an admission of the students' guilt. "It could have been anyone. I don't think it really matters at this point. They were down and they should be replaced," he added.

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