Several trees in South Garden City were saved Wednesday after concerned citizens raised questions about ambiguous signs posted on South Nassau Boulevard.

Don Clavin, the receiver of taxes for the town of Hempstead, said a business owner along the roadway approached him with a sign that said tall oak trees were going to be removed. He says the signs didn’t have any identification, so they “did a little research.”

After calling PSEG and Hempstead officials, Clavin said Nassau County admitted to being behind the tree removal.

“They gave us a little bit of a shell game,” said Clavin. “They suspended it this morning.”

Clavin says he called the Nassau County Department of Public Works and was told he would have to submit a written request to find out what was happening.

The DPW issued a statement to News 12 saying: “One tree on Nassau Boulevard was being taken down due to the uplifting and damaging on the sidewalks. Work has been suspended in order to review the work."

But Clavin says the DPW told him "many trees" were scheduled to be removed.

“Don't be sneaky if you are going to take down a tree,” said Clavin. “Let the residents know and give them contact information so they can ask questions.”

Residents say they are now forming a watchdog group to prevent what they call the “deforestation of Nassau County.”

Nassau County says they were put on notice to correct a dangerous situation and that only one tree was scheduled to be removed. County officials say written requests are never necessary to obtain information.