Life's No Bowl of Cherries

George Washington's birthday was the perfect time, of course, for John LoGiudice to get punished for chopping down a cherry tree. He found the tree growing wild, about 25 years ago, in the backyard of his house in Queens, N.Y. He transplanted it out to the front, next to the public sidewalk, and there it grew. "We always took care of it," said LoGiudice, 66, a retired milkman. "It was a beautiful tree with pretty flowers blossoming every spring and nice healthy cherries."

The tree began to die, one branch at a time. LoGiudice worried about the neighborhood children who climbed in the tree. "I was afraid they would get hurt, and the city would get sued, or I would," he said. So he cut the tree down. An official of the parks department in Queens happened to spot the fallen tree and asked whether LoGiudice had a permit to ax it. LoGiudice could not tell a lie. No permit. He was sent a bill. Value of tree destroyed: $1,287. Replacement cost of three-inch flowering cherry tree: $200. Inspection fee: $25. Discount: $200 (unexplained). Net owed: $1,312.

LoGiudice refused to pay. The city sent another bill and a warning. LoGiudice complained to the press. The press cried out. The spirit of George Washington was invoked. The parks commission backed down. It said it would waive payment, but it insisted that its rules were good ones. Said Mayor Edward Koch: "Even George Washington would have to have a license today to chop down a tree."

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