BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan visited a South Buffalo couple's backyard Wednesday after city workers mistakenly cut down a willow tree on their property, initially leaving them with the cleanup.
Back in June, Dan and Sarah Marinaro returned home from a trip to find the tree chopped down and the mess left behind. The tree was damaged during a storm, but city workers had mistakenly assumed it was on adjacent city-owned property, before cutting it down. The couple were devastated.
After I pushed for answers on the couple's behalf, Deputy Mayor Benjamin Swanekamp apologized to the Marinaros and facilitated their request to clean up the property and plant two replacement trees — a red maple and a sugar maple.
"Thanks to your reporting you were able to show them it's on our property and wasn't their property. They made a mistake and they're rectifying it," Dan Marinaro said.
The Marinaros are happy with the cleanup and how city officials have handled the blunder.
"The mayor showing up in person, it means a lot," Dan said.
WATCH: 'Our bad': Buffalo mayor admits mistake after city workers cut down tree on couple's property
Ryan told the Marinaros: "If you break something you gotta go fix it. So if we did something wrong, we're the first ones to say 'our bad' and 'how do we make it right.'"
The city plans to plant between 600 to 800 trees citywide starting this fall according to Interim Commissioner of Parks Stephen Buccilli.
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