Tree Removal in Jersey City, NJ

Tree removal in Jersey City is rarely a matter of felling a tree across an open lawn. Many trees here stand in narrow backyards behind rowhouses and brownstones, beside garages and fences, or over a neighbor's roof. With more than 290,000 people in about 15 square miles, there is almost never room to drop a tree in one piece. The work is done in sections: a climber or a lift takes the tree down from the top, and each piece is lowered on ropes or lifted out by crane.

Planning the job before the first cut

The estimate is where a city removal is really decided. We look at the tree's size and condition, what is underneath it, where the wires run, and how wood and debris will leave the yard. Some yards can be reached through an alley or a side gate. Others can only be reached through the house, which means protecting floors and hallways, or lifting the wood over the roof with a crane. You get a written plan and price before anything is scheduled.

City trees and permits

Jersey City's tree ordinance, Chapter 321, treats trees in the sidewalk strip, in City parks and on City property as City trees. Removing or pruning one, or construction or sidewalk and driveway work within 15 feet of one, requires a permit from the Division of Parks and Forestry, a separate permit for each tree. The ordinance also requires advance notice to nearby owners before two or more trees are removed, except in emergencies. Fines under the chapter run from $100 to $2,000. Trees fully on private property have not needed a City permit, but rules change, so we confirm what applies to your tree before the work is booked.

Trees and power lines

PSE&G's guidance is clear: trees within 10 feet of overhead lines are work for certified line-clearance contractors, and PSE&G assists with that clearance near its lines at no charge to the property owner. We do not cut within that distance. If your tree reaches the wires, we tell you how to request PSE&G's help and plan our work around theirs. The service wire that runs to your house is not part of PSE&G's routine line trimming, so if a removal involves it, we plan that with PSE&G before work starts.

Dead and dying ash trees

The emerald ash borer was first confirmed in New Jersey in 2014, and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture advises treating every ash tree in the state as high risk. Once infested, nearly all ash trees die, and dead ash becomes brittle quickly. If an ash tree over your house or sidewalk is losing its canopy, consider removing it before it becomes a hazard; whether a living ash can be saved is a question for a New Jersey Licensed Tree Expert.

What a removal includes

• A written quote with the method, cleanup and price
• Rigging and lowering the tree in sections, or crane lifting where needed
• Protection for roofs, fences, decks and gardens
• Chipping and hauling away wood and brush, or leaving wood cut to length if you want it
• Stump grinding, quoted separately so you can choose
• Raking and blowing off the work area before we leave

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After a storm

Superstorm Sandy brought storm surge and severe wind to Jersey City in 2012, and New Jersey utilities reported more than 113,000 trees destroyed or damaged across the state. In 2021, the remnants of Ida flooded parts of Hudson County, which was included in the federal disaster declaration. After a storm, call before trying to cut anything that is leaning, hung up in another tree or touching wires. Downed lines are PSE&G's to handle first; then we can safely take the tree apart.

Jersey City is home base. From there we serve 29 more communities: the rest of Hudson County (Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, North Bergen, Secaucus, Bayonne, Kearny, Harrison and East Newark); the nearby Bergen County towns of Fort Lee, Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Fairview, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, Leonia, Hackensack, Lyndhurst, North Arlington, Rutherford and East Rutherford; Newark, Belleville, Nutley, Bloomfield and Montclair in Essex County; and Elizabeth in Union County. Each town has its own tree rules, from street-tree permits to replacement fees for private trees, and each area page covers what applies there.