Neighbors sue landscaping business over noise, smell

A landscaping business in northern Westchester has drawn the ire of residents in three towns who say the company causes excessive noise, strong odors and health concerns.
Lana Magro, who lives near the Whispering Pine Landscape Supply Co., says it's "an industrial operation" underway right at the residential intersection of Somers, Yorktown and Mahopac.
"Loud banging, jack hammering, the noise has just been very difficult to deal with," she says.
Anthony Porco, who lives directly behind the company, agrees.
"They take all kinds of fill, and they'll jackhammer huge boulders down to smaller boulders," Porco says. "They take those boulders, and they will put them into a crusher."
Porco and his wife have filed a lawsuit against Whispering Pine, and the company says it cannot comment until the case is litigated. Somers' town supervisor also said he couldn't comment.
After years of feuding, the zoning board in Somers is set to take up the complaint.
"I feel like my civil liberties have been violated here," Porco says. "I've been complaining for a long time, and finally the zoning board is going to hear it. Finally."
The hearing was supposed to happen this week, but it's been rescheduled for May 15. Critics say Whispering Pine shouldn't be allowed in a neighborhood zoned for residential use.
They want it to move.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Whispering Pine Landscape Supply Co. and Whispering Pine Garden Center and Florist are separate businesses on the same property. The owners are cousins who say they operate independently from one another. The residents' complaints are about the activities conducted by the landscaping company.