Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/20/rich-people-are-killing-trees-to-improve-their-views-despite-massive-fines.html
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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: capitalism has this species twisted.
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In most places they would have been required to replace the trees with equivalent adult trees ($$$), but since they used some Color out of Space poison crap that lingers forever, that probably wasn’t possible.
Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Poisoner to Live
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Gorman should consider putting in a privacy fence, with (tasteful) barbed wire to keep out intruders.
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So, all that money and they still have their view. True justice would not be money-focused but restitution focused and erect a barrier to their view.
Hell, for that money they could have offered the neighbours the same amount to chop them down. Not that the neighbours would have accepted, and this would have tipped them off about possible intent.
But I know of a couple of guys who would have done it one night at almost zero cost beyond the air fare. (Yeah, yeah, innocent until proven, etc.)
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This happened in Vancouver about 20 years ago too. She did end up having to sell her apartment though… Tree assassin suffered enough, judge rules - The Globe and Mail
And two more times it seems: Vancouver Views, Entitled Homeowners and the Trees that Got in the Way | Viewpoint Vancouver
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And about a year ago in NJ.
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Something similar happened with the parental units’ neighbor in the 90s when they lived near a reservoir. Not poisoning, but after he bought the place he called the Army Corps of Engineering and learned the fine for removing the trees on his property that were blocking his view was just $5000, so he cut a dozen of them down, paid the fine, and enjoyed his view. Scummy, but as the Ferengi graphic above states, apparently quite legal at the time.
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A fair consequence would be forcing the poisoners to sell the property benefiting from the misbegotten view, but even then they’d presumably stand to benefit from a higher price
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I would prefer they plant the couples in place of the trees so they can enjoy their beloved oceanview forever.
I don’t get why society have to pay the price for these environmental-destroying-wealth-hoarding faux aristocrats.
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Poisoning trees is cool and all, but quarrying rock from a public park for your private arboretum (after being denied permission) shows you’ve got real swagger.
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There was a rich guy who had about 130 trees cut down in violation of the law so he could see the Potomac River from his mansion. Part of the reason it was illegal to cut down the trees was so that people enjoying the river and adjacent parks wouldn’t have to look at the mansion. The rich guy was Dan Snyder and he is the same horse’s ass that wanted to keep the racist name on his Washington football team.
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Seems it’s time to put up an eyesore, er, “commission a work of art” on the spot where the trees were. Something that pushes the boundaries - a daring piece of Avant-garde Genius. Invite the public to see it, frequently. If they try hard enough, they might be able to lower the property values of the entire area. Who needs trees, anyway?
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Which rule of acquisition is that? 
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Mr. T cut down dozens of trees so he could build a go kart track on his property in Lake Forest, IL. Then he wanted to run for mayor and was surprised that you had to be registered to vote!
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Key here is on his property. I am not really in favor of wanton forest destruction, but on his property makes it totally different from this (and related) stories of rich folks destroying trees on other people’s property for their own purposes.
(And I am stealing this for future use!)
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Mr. Oliverio, the county legislator, said he was sickened that Mr. Ziff could avoid jail time. He said the outcome confirms the worst that people with less money imagine about the rich. ‘‘I guess you figure, if a person disagrees with your selling price for something, you go take it anyway, because in the worst case, you’ll pay more for it,’’ he said. ‘‘This money to Mr. Ziff is like me paying a 15 percent tip at a restaurant. Yet the damage he did can never be repaired.’’
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