All the leaves will be falling soon. Now comes the roar of leaf blowers. Right? Wrong. We've been listening to leaf blowers all summer long, ever since grass started to be cut back in April. Wherever you go in Greenwich, north, south, east, west, when the subject of leaf blowers is introduced, opinion against their use is nearly unanimous, even by people who own one.
Dozens of communities surrounding Greenwich have banned use of gas-powered leaf blowers in summer, as have towns and cities across the country, particularly in California. Beverly Hills has banned their use totally, for decades. Rye Brook bans them, so does Mamaroneck and Larchmont. The village manager of Mamaroneck says they don't allow leaf blowers to be used by anyone, commercial landscapers or homeowners, from May 15 to Oct. 1. Even in the fall, they are prohibited on Sundays and holidays.
So what's the matter with Greenwich? If most of us are in favor of a summer ban, why doesn't our town do something about it? We've got greatly increased auto traffic, greatly increased noise from giant trucks going to and from construction sites, helicopters and low-flying jet airliners overhead, earth-moving machinery with high-pitched beep-beep-beep from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., plus lawnmowers and tractors, weed-whackers, edgers and trimmers. Couldn't we at least get along without the leaf blower noise?
I have an electric leaf blower, which is quieter than a gas-powered blower, and certainly healthier.
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Funny thing is, I almost never use it, and don't know why I bought it. I still clean our two flagstone terraces the old-fashioned way, with broom and buckets. I found that it doesn't take any longer, and it's almost fun in a primitive way. For about 25 years, I cut all the grass on 4 acres at our place, and with the help of the family raked and hauled all the leaves down to the compost piles. Those were good times; as a man said: "I like life -- it's something to do." I seldom raked grass clippings, which disappeared into the lawn, adding nitrogen to the soil.
But now, all summer long, anyone who spends time at home listens to high-decibel leaf blowers as they force yard debris into bushes and sometimes into the road. The racket on all sides is constant, and if a homeowner wants to get into the act on Sundays or holidays, the town of Greenwich says, "Go right ahead."
And what about the health issue? What about pollen, dust, fumes and dried animal excrement being blown into your house, even when you know you've shut all windows and doors? Hasn't anyone brought this up? Yes, several groups have, including Bob Wylie, Lucy Jinishian and Dick Roberts, who appeared at a Board of Health meeting on March 28, 2006.
They reminded the board that 10 years before that, they and other Greenwich citizens asked for a summer ban on gas-powered blowers and were turned down. The board did go so far as to permit just one leaf blower per property, a measure that proved unenforceable and ineffective. At that time 44 communities in California alone had enacted bans.
Leaf blowers were not invented until the 1970s, and were not in daily use until the 1990s. And are they ever daily now. Last week -- perhaps due to the weather -- all the lawn crews on our street, and on the road down behind us, arrived and went to work on the same day. One company after another, seemingly choreographed for entrances and exits, blew grass and twigs from 8 in the morning till 6 in the evening. Add jet aircraft, well digging and home construction to the mix, and you see why people are moving to downtown Greenwich -- it's for the quiet. The only benefit that day was the mercy of the machinery obliterating the sound of barking dogs.
I talked to town officials in Westchester about how their summer bans were working. Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Rye Brook, all reported no problems, not even with landscapers. They have even enacted further restrictions.
The village manager of Mamaroneck did say that he had several complaints from people in regard to one aspect: whenever a lawn crew tries to get away with something, residents want a faster response from the police.
It would be interesting to know how the affected landscapers are getting along. Does it take more time to do a job? If so, are customers paying more? Since both customers and contractors seem to be happy, it looks like a bit of quiet has been restored in the neighborhood.
Jerry Dumas, who lives in Greenwich, writes and draws the comic strip Sam and Silo, and is author of the book "An Afternoon in Waterloo Park." His articles have appeared in Smithsonian, The Atlantic Monthly and other periodicals.