NEW PALTZ- Glenn Bianchi, 39, says he purposely lets his lawn grow wild to provide a haven for honey bees and other pollinating insects.
“The decrease in pollinators, especially bees, is a major problem,” said Bianchi. “In this case, by letting my yard go, I can help.”
Bianchi estimates he saves about an hour and a half each week by eschewing all lawn maintenance tasks. He pointed to research showing a lawn mower generate 11 times as much air pollution as a car. “Lawns originated in medieval Europe as displays of wealth and status because only the nobles could afford to keep them maintained,” said Bianchi. “There’s really no reason for us to continue with this wasteful, ecologically damaging practice.”
But critics contend Bianchi is merely justifying his own laziness.
Neighbor Patricia McConnell claims that Bianchi, an underemployed union musician and perennial candidate for local political office, also espouses the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down” policy in his bathroom and doesn’t shower because “soap throws off your body’s natural PH and disrupts pheromones.”
Other property complaints include:
- a plugged drain pipe beneath the driveway causing standing water conducive to mosquito breeding
- A large dying tree, part of which overhangs McConnell’s property, which Bianchi refuses to pay to take down
- Several unregistered vehicles sitting in the yard (he claims they are “projects” but McConnell has never seen him work on them)
- An old, unfenced in-ground pool whose liner and concrete lining have long-since cracked
- Paint on house cracking and peeling
- Lets his pitbulls have the run of the neighborhood
“If Glenn spent half the time working as he does justifying why he shouldn’t work he’d be a lot better off,” says McConnell.
