i am patsy ferguson, i lived three blocks from the park. i believe there is no legitimate reason for the wholesale removal of seven ficus trees. it is true of the of public works has had some limb failures with ficus trees, but that does not mean they should just be cutting them down all over town. this is not a legitimate reason to say they have branches that don't attach the way we want tree branches to attach. as mr. carnes pointed out, to, arborist reports from just the last two years identify those trees as healthy and fine. mature trees, like these, are estimated to be worth about $200,000 each. what would your decision be if d.p.w. asked if they could just throw $1.5 million out the window? boast north beach residence do not want these trees taken down. mr. carnes showed you petitions, 500 names on it. why there is not a big crowd tonight, i'm not sure. i did see two people i knew were here to talk about the trees leave, because they cannot stay up this late. listening, i just noticed a couple of things, he had his e-mail interchange