Contractor damages roots of 7 trees while arranging parking near historic building in Mykolaiv city centre

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near the Yuritsyn House, photo by NikVesti

During the works on the arrangement of a parking pocket near the historic building in the city centre, the contractor damaged the roots of seven trees. This was reported by a correspondent of NikVesti who visited the site.

The incident took place on the territory near the architectural monument known as «Yuritsyn's House» at 40/1 Vadym Blahovisnyi (Nikolska) Street, at the intersection with Oleksii Vadaturskyi (Faleevska) Street.

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This afternoon, excavation works were carried out there to create parking pockets in front of the building from Vadym Blahovisnyi (Nikolska) and Oleksii Vadaturskyi (Falieievska) streets. The work was carried out using an excavator. Environmental activist Dmytro Riabchenko witnessed the events and called the police and representatives of the State Environmental Inspectorate.

There were also workers carrying out preparatory work and a representative of the building's owner, who, according to official figures, is Iryna Herasymenko.

A fence cut the roots of trees near the Yuritsyn House, photo by NikVesti

The contractor has already managed to remove about 40 centimetres of soil close to the trees, exposing and partially damaging the roots and trunks of plane trees and acacias.

Speaking to the owner's representative, environmental inspector Nataliia Barchuk noted that the trees could die due to the low temperatures.

«Now the frost is coming, the trees will die. And you will destroy them. This is not your territory, you have damaged the trees, there is a hole in the tree. You have exposed the root system,» said Nataliia Barchuk.

In response, the representative of the building owner said that within three days the area near the trees would be filled in and curbs would be installed. Speaking to the police, he said that he was arranging parking spaces near the building, as it would be used as an office after restoration. He assured that he had not instructed the workers to damage the trees. At the same time, the contractor's representative, speaking to environmental activist Dmytro Riabchenko, expressed doubt about the condition of the acacia and suggested that it had dried up.

The contractor damaged the roots of the trees near Yuritsyn's house, photo by NikVesti

Representatives of the State Environmental Inspectorate recorded the fact that trees were damaged during construction work with machinery and drew up a report.

«The skeletal roots of the trees were broken off. An administrative report was drawn up. The damage will be calculated for each tree — five plane trees and two acacias. The owner says that he did not want to do this, of course, that he only wanted to arrange a car park, he gave the task to the workers, and the workers damaged the roots while performing this task with machinery. Any interference with the tree can also lead to the tree getting sick. It can become dangerous, it can fall, for example, during storms — it can happen. It may not die, but it may become dangerous. And then when trees fall and people don't understand why they fall. It is precisely because of the road construction, sidewalks, and damaged roots that affect the tree and lead to an emergency,» Inna Kryvko, a representative of the State Environmental Inspectorate, told NikVesti.

Earlier, the owner applied to the State Ecological Inspectorate for approval to demolish seven trees around the building, as they interfere with construction work — they plan to add an attic floor. However, the environmentalists refused to allow it.

Environmental inspectors examined the trees and drew up a report, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near the Yuritsyn House in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

The contractor damaged the roots of trees near Yuritsyn's house in Mykolaiv, photo by NikVesti

As you know, in the spring of this year, work began in Mykolaiv on the restoration of a historic 19th-century building, an architectural monument known as «Yuritsyn's House». The area around the mansion was fenced off, and the builders, in particular, knocked down some of the decorative stucco on the facade, as it turned out, even before they had received a work permit. The building in question is a two-storey house located at 40/1 Vadym Blahovisnyi (Nikolska) Street, at the intersection with Oleksii Vadaturskyi (Faleevska) Street. The building belongs to a private owner — in 2023, it was purchased by Iryna Herasymenko.

Earlier, Oleh Dereniuha, a journalist for NikVesti, noticed that part of the stucco above one of the windows of the building had been knocked down. As it turned out, there will be a door there.

In addition, the owner of the architectural monument plans to add an attic floor.

The Yuritsyn's House is a two-storey mansion built in the second half of the 19th century in an eclectic style, known for its decorative stucco. The building has the status of a local architectural monument. Serhii Yuritsyn was a Mykolaiv-based journalist, publisher and political activist. After the establishment of Soviet rule in Mykolaiv in March 1919, he left the city, but in June of the same year he returned with Denikin's troops and was reinstated as city commissar. In February 1920, when the Bolsheviks finally took over Mykolaiv, Yuritsyn left the city and reportedly never returned to Mykolaiv or his home.