3,400 new trees coming to Brooklyn, part of city council member's plan to combat climate change
NEW YORK - A new Princeton Elm grows on Dean Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. It is one of more than 3,000 trees to be planted in the area over the next few years.
Parts of Brooklyn are about to get a lot greener, as Councilmember Lincoln Restler sprouted an initiative to plant thousands of new trees in the 33rd Council District, which also includes parts of Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights, and Williamsburg.
"The number one solution in fighting back against climate change is a nature solution. Its more trees. Whether its bringing shade to our community, addressing storm runoff, improving air quality," Restler tells CBS2's Hannah Kliger at the site of the new tree.
The ambitious plan includes a new tree in every empty bed, maxing out the district's tree capacity. That will amount to 3,400 new trees over the course of four years, more than 800 per year.
"It's also about improving the health of our street trees. So we are organizing street tree care events all across our district, we got eight of them this spring and summer," he says.
NYC Parks has committed to 2,200 of the planned trees at a cost of more than $6.8 million dollars, about $3,130 per tree. The rest will be paid for by the district's discretionary funding and public donations, costing at least $2.5 million. Already the community raised $23,000 to help finance the trees currently being planted by Tree Time, a parks department program which allows the public to donate to urban forestry.
"Heat vulnerability index is a major driver of where we plant trees," says James Kaechele, Program Manager of Tree Time. "Trees are are the only capital investment that appreciates over time. Evert year a tree grows, and it captures more stormwater, saves people more on their electricity bill through cooling, it sequesters more carbon."
"The more green the area, to me, adds beauty to the architecture and design of the community as well," says Omaru Washington who sometimes walks by the empty tree bed.
While the Princeton Elm was being planted, an excited neighbor ran out, thanking workers for filling the plot in front of her home which used to hold an old tree that elevated the nearby sidewalk.
"I've seen so many small green spaces being paved over because of the rats and the few green spaces we do have lately are disappearing," explains Vanessa Appleby who walks by the street for lunch.
Boerum Hill resident Peter Kettle was sitting on his stoop. While he says he supports the plan, he hopes more can be done to maintain older trees.
"Sometimes branches fall and land on cars, so the city might do a bit of a better job maintaining the existing trees," he says.
Street trees are the responsibility of the Parks Department. Last year, NYC Parks celebrated a milestone: more trees planted in the 2022 fiscal year than the past five. The department is on track to surpass that milestone this year.
"Trees provide an array of benefits for New Yorkers, and our goal is to plant as many trees in as many places as we can across the city," said NYC Parks Assistant Commissioner for Forestry & Horticulture Ben Osborne. "We are happy to collaborate with Council Member Restler towards tree plantings, and in addition to these new trees planted through our Tree Time program, we're proud to say that District 33 can look forward to more trees in the neighborhood in the years to come."
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