Pleasantville Forum To Discuss Use Of Leaf Blowers

PLEASANTVILLE, NY — The Conservation Advisory Committee and the Pleasantville Board of Trustees invite the public to discuss the use of leaf blowers in the village in a Zoom forum Oct. 15.

Local restrictions on gas-powered leaf blowers have been topics of conversation in Westchester County for more than a decade.

Pleasantville's advisory committee made a recent presentation to the village board on promoting alternatives to leaf-blowing.

They are worried about the effect of the noise pollution in a community where everyone is working and learning from home due to the pandemic.

Among their other top points:

• Emissions from 15-30 min of leaf blower use (typical for Pleasantville) is equivalent to emissions from driving a pick-up ~2,000 to 4,000 suburban miles)
• Only way to get leaf blowers to emit less than a car or truck is to turn them off

The committee proposes a village ordinance limiting the operation of leaf blowers to two weeks in spring and three weeks in the fall, and prohibiting their use before 10 a.m. on Saturdays and noon on Sundays.

The event will start at 7:30 p.m. For more information and to send comments and opinions, email leafblowers@pleasantville-ny.gov.