A TREE-SLASHING homeowner could face hefty legal consequences after chopping down 32 of his neighbor’s trees to clear out a better view of the Manhattan skyline.
The New Jersey resident may face over $1.5 million in fines and replacement fees as well as a trespassing violation, per local officials and neighbors.
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Grant Haber, the CEO of an antiterrorism company, was hit with the charges after it was discovered that he axed a quarter acre of oaks, birches, and maples on his neighbor's property.
His heartbroken neighbor, Samih Shinway told the New York Post that he caught workers cutting down the trees on his estate in early March.
Shinway said he heard "multiple chainsaws," which prompted him to jump onto his four-wheeler and drive down the scene to investigate.
He was met with a graveyard of slashed trees, some of which he claims were around 150 years old.
"I saw a landscape truck, a dump truck-style truck, with a big, large shredder, and four landscape contractors on my property,” he added.
Shinway said that the contractors told him that their boss wanted a view of the city and the mountain range.
He quickly contacted local authorities who instructed the workers to “cease and desist."
Shinway, who loves nature and helps at the state's Woodland Management Program, struggled to hold back his feelings.
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"It breaks my heart. It angers me," said Shinway. "These trees take a very long time to grow."
The devastated property owner had just one request following the terrible tree ordeal.
“To cut 40 trees and leave them to waste for no reason, that’s insane. I just want everything replaced," he asserted.
A local town ordinance requires any person who removed a tree to replace it with another of like or superior species.
Shinway explained that restoring the green space will be no easy feat, involving the construction of a roadway to the site, removal of invasive species, plus years of watering.
He suggested that the massive undertaking could cost up to $1.5million.
A Kinnelon municipal court hearing on the case of the timber troubles has been scheduled for July 18.
The U.S. has reached out to Grant Haber and his attorney Matthew Meuller for comment.
