Stump grinding in Cheektowaga, NY

Cheektowaga's layout and housing

Cheektowaga was largely farmland until the post-World War II housing boom. Its population nearly doubled in the 1950s, and much of the town is made up of subdivisions from that era. Buffalo Niagara International Airport is in the town.

Two villages sit partly or wholly inside it. Sloan is near the Buffalo line. Depew is split, with about half in Cheektowaga and half in Lancaster. A small part of the Village of Williamsville also extends into the town. Everything else falls under the town government.

Within the town, residents still use older hamlet and neighborhood names: Cleveland Hill on the north line, Maryvale west of the airport, Pine Hill along the Buffalo border, Doyle in the southwest corner, Bellevue near the Depew line, U-Crest near Union Road and Genesee Street, and South Cheektowaga near the West Seneca line.

What that means for a stump job

If your lot has a driveway along one side, a detached garage in back, and a fenced backyard, a few practical points apply.

• Access. The route to a backyard stump is usually the driveway beside the house, then a gate. Measure the narrowest point. Compact grinders are built for standard backyard gates, but an older, narrower gate or a tight gap by the garage can matter.
• Private lines. A detached garage may have a buried electrical feed. UDig NY's member utilities do not mark private lines, so tell your contractor where you know or suspect one runs.
• Mature trees. Trees planted when these neighborhoods were new are now large. Expect wide root flares and roots running under driveways and walks. See surface root grinding.
• Neighbors close by. Stumps often sit near a lot line. Grinders throw chips, so a heads-up to the neighbor helps.

Stumps in the right-of-way

This is where Cheektowaga is unusually clear. The town Highway Department says it handles trees in the town right-of-way. It can remove town trees that are dead, badly diseased, or a safety hazard, pending approval from the Housing Department. Removal is done in stages: topping the tree and trunk, grinding the stump, and filling the hole with topsoil and seed.

The department also runs a tree planting program for the right-of-way. Trees are offered for spring or fall planting, based on funds and availability, and the town has noted a waiting list.

So if the stump is in the tree lawn by the street, ask the town first. It may already be on the schedule. If you're in Sloan or the Cheektowaga part of Depew, check with the village instead.

Ash and storm history

Cheektowaga has lost a lot of ash. In 2016, The Buffalo News reported about 200 infested trees removed from Town Park the year before. At Reinstein Woods, a third of the ash were found infested, and 50 were removed in 2014. Many yard ash went the same way.

The October 2006 lake-effect storm also hit the town hard. The National Weather Service recorded 22.6 inches at the Buffalo airport and about 24 inches in Depew, the storm's maximum, on trees still in full leaf.

Before you hire in Cheektowaga

For pricing factors, see stump grinding cost. For the next steps after grinding, see after stump grinding. How the job works is covered in stump grinding.