Starting in March, all hell breaks loose. At 7:30 a.m., the giant truck pulls up to my neighbor’s house; an army of men gets out, and they start the machines up. The gas-powered leaf blowers start first, then the mowers — never mind that there’s nothing to blow in March except dirt and the stray twig — but for the next two to three hours they work away.
Twice a week, sometimes three times a week, they show up like clockwork. This invasion goes on until December or when the ground has a hard frost.
During the summer, not even a stray piece of grass is allowed to lie in place. After the mowers are done, the gas blowers with their horrendous noise are used until every last blade has been moved to its final resting place.
The fall is usually the worst. Every leaf is blown in this direction and that direction — the noise, the fumes and the clouds of dust are unimaginable.
The Press and Express have written numerous and accurate articles about the benefits of leaving grass clippings and leaves on lawns, but sometimes giving people the necessary information is just not enough.
After November 2, the next Town Board will be in place. I hope that those with a strong environmental record have been elected and that they will stick to the platforms they ran on.
Passing a law banning gas-powered leaf blowers is an obvious and easy task. It is one of the Town Board’s primary duties to safeguard the health and well-being of our community. Many of us suffer from seasonal allergies and bronchial issues, which are exacerbated, sometimes to a dangerous level, by airborne pollutants such as those caused by leaf blowers.
It is time to act. Please ban gas-powered leaf blowers in the Town of Southampton now.
Anna Klebnikov Brinsmade
East Quogue
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