Landscaper Asks Village to Reconsider Ban on Gas Leafblowers

(This letter was submitted by Patsy and Mike Siconolfi of Siconolfi Landscaping)
Letter to the Editor:
My family has provided lawn care service in Scarsdale since the mid 1980’s. We have always maintained a good reputation of providing great service for a fair price. I am not only one of the owners of the lawn care company but am also a worker who works alongside his men getting the job done.

I am writing in regards to the recent ban on gas operated blowers, and in the hopes that there is a way we can somehow achieve this without causing financial hardship to the lawn care providers and our employees.

Our clients have an expectation that their yards will be pristine despite this ban. We have been researching replacement equipment, and what we have discovered is that the technology for electric lawn power equipment is not there yet. The electric/battery operated blowers have half the power of a gas operated blower so the amount of time it will take to clean the properties will take 2 to 4 times or even more depending on property size. More running time equals more noise and more costs than a gas powered blower, and we don’t have the ability to double or quintuple the rates that we charge without getting ourselves fired. Labor prices are at their highest right now and workers are scarce. These electric blowers are not viable for us.

In order for us to do our job properly, I will need 16 batteries a day to run one blower with half of the power of a gas blower and will need a gas powered generator to keep charging these batteries throughout the day and that’s only for one blower. Are you aware that the new gas powered blowers are more efficient than the old ones? In addition these electric/battery blowers aren’t available due to shortages. The dealers don’t have them and if we can get our hands on one they are incredibly expensive. Is Scarsdale going to help us out financially so we can afford to keep doing our jobs for your town? I am wondering if the good folks from town hall have thought to discuss this with those working in the industry because it feels to us like you have put “the cart before the horse”. We are not against going green, but we don’t want to do so at the cost of putting ourselves out of business.

For commercial applications, battery power has yet to compete when it comes to blowing power. When it comes to maintenance, there are no local dealers to repair the machines, or sell replacement parts. We are looking for a viable way to replace our gas blowers with a machine that provides equal power and at a cost that is affordable, and this simply does not exist.

Let’s make it right, look at the whole picture first, and find a solution that works for all of us. This will affect property owners in Scarsdale as well as all the people that work in Scarsdale to keep it clean and safe like Landscapers, Lawn Care Companies, Arborist, Masons, etc. Perhaps there is a way to limit the hours that we use these necessary tools from March thru May and again September thru Mid-December.

Additionally, we have heard that Landscaper/ Lawn Care companies can’t use gas powered blowers but Village employees, golf clubs, and village owned pools, etc are allowed to use them, which seems unfair. I am concerned that this ban will destroy your loyal hard working laborers, and we are very concerned for the future of our business and our employees.

Please make laws fair for everyone. We are all Americans trying to make an honest living. We need to work together to keep your community clean and the electric/battery operated equipment is not the answer at this time because the cost is too high and the technology is not quite there yet. Please help us all to find a realistic solution.

Thank You,

Patsy and Mike Siconolfi
Siconolfi Landscaping
PO Box 887
Harrison, NY 10528