What Are Landscapers Allowed to Do?

Mulch
Photo credit Brendan Wenger

BUFFALO (WBEN) - As the New York pause order remains in effect, there has been some confusion and even a little outrage regarding the duties that landscapers are allowed to perform.

On Thursday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz provided an update.

Based on further guidance received from NYS and health officials, landscapers/lawn services are allowed to mulch properties they serve. New plantings, designs, etc. are still not allowed. Thank you for your patience on this issue. pic.twitter.com/V3aXLKHgem

— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) May 7, 2020

On Friday morning, Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul joined WBEN's Joe Beamer live, and she further explained what the regulation means.

"The official regulation right now is that they can work on maintenance, and it's not clear that it says mulch, but I think we'll get that clarification today," she said.

"As it stands right now, we still cannot do installation of new plantings and so on unless it's just one single person that's out on a job site," said Sokolowski.

She added that they'll certainly abide by whatever regulations are put forth, but it's disappointing because she believes landscaping is generally a job that can be done safely during the pandemic.

"It's a little frustrating because, for one thing, when you're out on a job site outside, and the type of work that we're doing, pretty much we're able to keep our safe distance of six feet - we can work that way."