By Scott Etkin
This spring, the New York City Parks Department is proposing to plant 392 trees on the Upper West Side. In empty tree beds and patches of sidewalk around the neighborhood, small green and white signs have appeared to mark where the plantings will go.
The new trees will be approximately 15 feet tall and 2.5 to 4 inches in “caliper” (diameter at chest height). These dimensions are “optimal for establishment and survival, and a typical size range of street trees planted throughout the city,” a Parks representative told WSR in an email.
This effort is part of the agency’s routine planting program across NYC, which is funded from a variety of sources, according to the representative. While the plantings are done across the city, the campaign tries to prioritize neighborhoods that are especially vulnerable to extreme heat. Last year, the neighborhoods in Manhattan that were prioritized were: Central Harlem, East Harlem, the Lower East Side, Hamilton Heights, and Manhattanville.
In the city’s last fiscal year, which ended on June 30th, nearly 15,000 trees were planted. This is the highest total in six years but far below the total needed to reach a million trees planted by 2030, which is the target that has been advocated for by the city’s borough presidents. This past January, Community Board 7 voted in support of this idea, which is a continuation of the similar tree-planting campaign that started under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Research has found many benefits to having more trees in urban environments — they help to clean the air, absorb stormwater and carbon dioxide, and cool the temperature on hot days. Details about each of the city’s 800,000+ trees can be found on the live “tree map” that’s maintained by the Parks Department.
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Any idea what kind of trees these will be? Also, all one kind or a variety?
(Either way, I hope the lantern flies will stay away.)
I’d imagine they would be from this list: https://www.nycgovparks.org/trees/street-tree-planting/species-list . Notice that callery pear is not on that list. They line Broadway but been found to be invasive and planting of male trees in preference to female trees creates a pollen storm.
Fantastic. Getting to a million trees by 2030 could be a galvanizing feel good story to unite NYers. And we aren’t too far off.
Please include Morningside Heights. I don’t see one new tree in Manhattanville.
West 80 Street between Broadway and Amsterdam does not receive any considerable sunlight, especially between Bldg. Nos. 200 and 209, as a result of the numerous trees planted there back in the 1990s. Unfortunately, we are unable to upload pictures, but an aerial view from Google Maps shows the street being covered by greenery. At night, the street lamps are barely visible, making the street dimly lit. Exacerbating the issue, the roots have broken/raised sidewalks in certain areas, providing underground highways to exist for the rats to use. While a tree here or there is nice, I hope the decision makers spread them out. Planting 18+ trees was excessive! Walk by there at night and learn from past mistakes!
This is peak West Side Rag. Someone is now complaining about too many trees.
Mark,
I love trees but it is true that the City does sometimes plant in places that are inappropriate – insufficient light, overly narrow sidewalks, difficult to maintain, at bus stops impacting ADA etc
At the same time, the City fails to plant in parts of the city that lack trees.
So it is surprising that the City is adding on the West Side which already has quite a lot.
That is great news. Broadway now is beautiful with all the trees on the UWS. I wonder what variety will be planted. I see seniors on Sunday picking up trash and I do the same, too. Thanks, seniors.