I don't think you are going to find any non chemical way to deal with brown rot. Cutting down the oak tree might help but probably not enough to get reliable crops. That's not much help but seems to me only you can weigh all the factors.

Trees in your yard are there for your enjoyment. If you don't want it there any longer, get rid of it. It's possible I have an issue with cutting down trees. I live in the suburbs, and an entire orchard (apples) was cut down to make room for boring production homes. I feel a sense of obligation to restore some of the beauty that was taken away. I know, it's a little ridiculous (my entire family thinks I'm a little nuts). My neighbors planted dwarf apple trees (different variety, though) the same summer as us, and have been getting apples for 2 years. So I think our tree may have a problem that prevents it from production. I will post in the fruit and orchard forum though, thanks. heather

Yes, the poorly-named "eastern red cedar" is neither a cedar nor is it related closely to "western red cedar"! It is a juniper, Juniperus virginiana botanically speaking. It can achieve some size, but takes a while to get there. Eminently prunable, one could theoretically hold a juniper to a certain size almost indefinitely if they so desired. But such pruning is a personal choice, not something the tree needs to have happen. Do you like this plant? That should be your number one guidance on whether or not to retain it in your landscape. Considerable wildlife value, decent aesthetics, it is an invasive pest in some south-central parts of the country where fire previously held it in check, this of course no longer happening with farms, cities, shopping malls and highways covering the land. +oM

Answering the question of what to put in place of the trees, I'd recommend sod in order to heal the scarred lawn. The area is too close to the drive and street for shrub obstructions and there are already street trees nearby. If you are trying to hide some of the property across the street, then place a dome shaped shrub about 15'-20' from the street and 10'-12' from the drive. (Placing it too close to street or drive will be a disadvantage in one way or another.) The acceptable shapes to prune it to are dome or tapered cylinder. (If you prune to a ball, you'll ultimately be creating a mushroom shape tree form where the stem would be short stilts.) It could have a square footprint if you prefer. I'm not saying that placing a shrub there is ideal regardless of other circumstances. It's ideal if it solves your problem. If you don't need it, stick with sod only. I would be limbing up the street trees a little for cleaner appearance and so it's not a bigger job later. Examples of dome shaped shrubs, circled in red, especially at the background. It could be evergreen but doesn't seem that it must be, which would open up the the options in shrub selection.