Workers cut down 19 mature trees in Mossgrove Park in April. (Submitted by Michael Chen)

Some residents of a north Toronto neighbourhood say the city overreacted to complaints of teens hanging out in a local park by cutting down 19 mature trees.

There have been complaints that teens in Mossgrove Park, near York Mills Road and Leslie Street, were drinking and smoking drugs.

After city work crews cut down the trees, area resident Michael Chen surveyed the stumps that were left.

"[The trees were] all 30 years old," said Chen. "I actually went there and counted the rings on them."

Chen said that when he asked, he was told they were cut down for safety reasons.

He's lived near the park for 20 years and said the park is perfectly safe

"There has not been any kind of security problems, or teen problems, or drug problems, which I think was one of the reasons [for cutting down the trees]," he said.

But Coun. Cliff Jenkins said other residents told him they felt unsafe with unruly teens hanging out in the park.

"The police travelling by, or really anybody travelling by, can't see what activities are going on in there. So the drug dealers and other people doing undesirable activities gravitated there because it was a haven for them," he said.

Jenkins said police told him safety would improve if they could see into the park from the street.

"The other solutions were increased patrols — and the police tried that. It wasn't working. But people in the community were very strongly in favour of safety for the community. When you think about it, our children are not replaceable, trees are," said Jenkins.