Oak Tree Removal Reignites East Norwalk Frustration Over Development, Process

NORWALK, Conn. — A large oak tree that once stood at Cemetery Street and Gregory Boulevard has now been removed, a loss that has intensified long-standing frustrations in East Norwalk, where residents say the decision reflects deeper concerns about development, communication, and transparency in city projects.

The tree came down in early November as part of preparation for state-required drainage work tied to the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s (CTDOT) East Avenue reconstruction. City officials pursued an alternative design in hopes of preserving the tree, but CTDOT ultimately rejected the proposal, citing structural, safety, and permitting concerns.

In a Nov. 14 email to Norwalk’s Department of Public Works, CTDOT Assistant Chief Engineer Bartholomew Sweeney wrote that the revised drainage plan raised “significant concerns” across several review units, and that the department could not support modifying the project from its original bid. The agency said the city would need extensive new analyses, updated sight-distance and safety calculations, revised turning templates, and potential permit amendments, and that the drainage improvements must be completed by October 2026.

In response to ongoing questions about how the decision was made and why the tree removal occurred before CTDOT’s drainage work begins, the agency said the project is part of a coordinated, two-phase plan involving the city and the developer currently building on Cemetery Street.

“Some improvements are being done by CTDOT, and others were required by zoning for the local developer,” CTDOT spokesperson Eva Rosenberg wrote in a statement. She said the developer’s work includes roadway and sidewalk upgrades, while CTDOT will handle drainage and additional roadway improvements.

To avoid duplicating work, Rosenberg said state and local officials agreed to sequence construction so the developer’s work would take place first, followed by CTDOT’s portion in the spring when asphalt plants reopen. “It would not make sense for CTDOT to install sidewalks, only to have the developer have to rip them out and put in different sidewalks a few months later,” she wrote.

According to CTDOT, removing the oak tree during the initial phase was necessary to allow the state to move ahead with the drainage installation and roadway changes planned for phase two.

Comments Raised on “The Lisa Wexler Show”

During a Nov. 21 segment on WICC’s Lisa Wexler Show, host Lisa Wexler, Mayor-elect Barbara Smyth, and East Norwalk Neighborhood Association member Diane Cece discussed the tree and related public concerns.

Wexler described the oak as “the Sentinel of the entrance of the East Norwalk community” and said residents “have already been besieged with a lot of what people perceive as ugly overbuilding.”

Smyth said earlier drainage plans involving the culvert dated back “six or seven years,” predating the Mill Pond project. She said overlapping projects, staff changes, and pandemic delays contributed to public confusion. “A lot has been forgotten,” she said.

Smyth said city and state engineers explored ways to save the tree. “They looked at every possible way to work around that,” she said. “Ultimately, the decision was made because it really wasn’t safe.”

Wexler questioned whether alternatives were fully considered, telling Smyth, “In a country that invents all kinds of wonderful things, we ought to be able to save this tree.”

Cece told Wexler that residents only learned the tree would be removed “entirely by accident,” and said the neighborhood has not located documentation showing the drainage plan predates the development application. “We haven’t been able to find any documentation that references this point of drainage repair that came up prior to the one Cemetery Street development that’s there now,” she said.

Cece also said residents want the city and state to “hit the pause button,” adding, “The community is just not convinced that what we saw from the DOT is a definitive… last word on this.”

‘It’s become a symbol.’

Outside the radio appearance, Cece told NancyOnNorwalk that the residents’ reaction has grown beyond the tree itself.

“It’s become a symbol of something that’s more systemic,” she said in an interview, citing concerns about “communications, transparency, engaging the public.”

Cece said residents have received conflicting information as they’ve looked into the project. “Getting facts and data has been like pulling teeth and getting conflicting stories,” she said. “We can’t get a straight answer.”

Residents continue to link the issue to the Mill Pond/Cemetery Street redevelopment approved in 2022.

“Oh yeah,” Cece said. “There’s no doubt it’s connected.” She said any new issue in the area “that’s even remotely related to that development is going to raise that kind of ire at this point.”

“Basically, no one in East Norwalk, except for a couple of people, supported that development,” she said.

Notification concerns

Cece said residents first learned the tree was being removed “entirely by accident” after someone noticed a posted notice on the site.

She said the neighborhood association continues to raise concerns about how and when they receive information about major projects.

In her interview, Cece said she would like neighborhood associations to be notified directly by the city before decisions are finalized.

She said she would like the associations “in the loop ahead of decisions and… made a part of decisions,” instead of “finding out either by accident or when there’s shovels in the ground, or reading something in the newspaper or hearing something on… Facebook.”

She said the current approach has left residents frustrated. “It is indicative of… just a complete lack of respect, no communication, not being upfront with people,” she said.

An unresolved sense of loss

Residents continue to describe the tree as a visual marker in East Norwalk.

“They see it kind of as an icon of the gateway,” Cece said. During a recent visit to the site, she noted that “even just bare with a few leaves on it, the canopy was just breathtaking.”

Editor’s note: At the time of writing, the oak tree remained in place. It was removed before this story was published early this morning. The article has since been updated.