Greenlawn Landscaping and Lawn Maintenance Inc.

I was very satisfied with their work. The spray they used killed the poison ivy immediately. I was told that my yard would probably need a second spray at the end of October to make sure that it was all gone. Before I scheduled further services, though, Bill the owner called me. He said that his workers were in my neighborhood and needed work to do, and even though I had not scheduled services that day his men were coming to clean my yard - free of charge. I am definitely using Greenlawn Landscaping again.

I had written a very positive review on Greenlawn's service about a month after I contracted for landscaping services in April of 2012 because the work was very good. However, I am compelled to submit another review because of Mr Bill Thomas's continual defensive attitude which resulted in service termination after a nasty telephone confrontation in late August..
One example: New York City finally installed sewers in my Staten Island neighborhood (Princes Bay), and the whole northern sides of my front and side yard were destroyed in the process this past May. I had started restoring one section myself and had purchased a couple of bags of an expensive seed-mulch mix, but I soon realized that the soil was very "clayey," chunks of driveway macadam and large rocks were mixed in, and generally needed levelling. Mr Thomas gave me an estimate for the restoration of this area. His estimate included the cost for very expensive seeds. When I told him I had already purchased high quality seeds, he countered that he only got the best. When I showed him the bags I had purchased, they turned out to be the same brand as that on his estimate. He then said that his seeds were a special blend, so I dropped the matter. The work was finished in mid-June, and Mr Thomas advised me to water those areas twice daily which I did faithfully for about 4-6 weeks. Sometime in July, I noticed that about a 1/3 of the area was not seeding at all, but weeds were proliferating in several spots. After much hesitation, I decided to inform Mr Thomas about this to which he replied I was not watering as instructed and also that area was more sunny than the rest. He then re-seeded without removing the weeds. I then spent 4 hours removing them very carefully once these new seeds sprouted. When I informed him of this in late August, he got very angry.
The above was the last of the several unpleasant interactions I had with Mr Thomas. It seemed that every comment or issue was confrontational. A neighbor also had this same problem with Mr Thomas's defensiveness, and she terminated his service, too.

My previous contractor picked up and left town last November, and he really didn't do a Fall cleanup other than leaves that got caught up with the mowing and clearing. About a month ago, I started checking around for a new lawn maintenance contractor, reaching out to friends and then Angieslist. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a local contractor on the List. Living on an island -even a New York City borough (Staten Island), I've learned that contractors from Brooklyn, New Jersey, Queens, and Long Island charge for bridge tolls which add considerably to the expenses. (Some even want to charge for driving time and gas.)

Finally a friend got back to me last week with a name and a number, Greenlawn. I called them on Tues, April 10, and made an estimate appointment for Wednesday afternoon. Bill Thomas showed up promptly and surveyed the situation. He gave me an proposal for $300 for the Spring cleanup, a $100 monthly service cost (which is for 3 cuttings and 2 edgings every 8-10 days), and disposal of debris for my 60 x 200 foot property. (He informed me that he would charge $33 for the last cut of April.) These prices are comparable to the two previous contractors I have had over the past 14 years, and so I agreed, and he gave me a very detailed and informative, helpful proposal outlining his various services and charges for extras like hedge-trimming and planting. We scheduled an appointment for today.

Greenlawn arrived about 10:45 this morning and finished up about 3:15pm including a lunch break. I had asked him if they could cut back a 2-3 foot swath of English Ivy that was overgrowing my side yard which added some time to the job. They also removed a dead possum they came across. I added $50 to the bill for this extra work. .

Greenlawn is triply-licensed. I was very satisfied with the work and professionalism of this company.