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An ambitious plan to plant one million trees in New York is actually going to rely heavily, or primarily, on the the actions and funding of individual residents. On Earth Day back in April, Mayor Bloomberg announced one of many bold initiatives to make New York a greener city: plant a million trees by 2030. Bloomberg even said that $250 million would be devoted to the project over the next ten years to get it going. A closer examination of the details of the plan show that the project's goals are extremely backloaded, with most of the planting of trees by the city coming after 2017, and individual residents are expected to plant more than three trees for every one that the city plants in the next ten years.
The New York Sun notes that the $250 million earmarked for tree planting will go towards installing 15,000 new trees annually, or 150,000 in the next decade. City officials are now explaining for the one-million-tree mark to be met, city residents will have to buy and plant 500,000 new saplings themselves. Even if that ambitious goal were met, that would still leave 350,000 trees that needed to be planted over the next 13 years to reach 1 million trees by 2030. The city would have to nearly redouble its tree-planting efforts at that point, to a rate of planting 27,000 trees annually.
The Sun quotes Peter Kostmayer, the executive director of the nonprofit group Citizens for NYC, who voiced concerns about the ability to act locally. "I don't have a shovel, and I don't know where I'd plant a tree. How do you get people in Manhattan to do that?" It's not just a lack of knowledge that could be daunting. It costs $17,000 to plant a tree in Manhattan, according to the Parks Dept. And homeowners buying big saplings for their yards could spend as much as $1,000 a piece, according to the Sun.
(West 69th Street From Central Park West, by Harris Graber at flickr)
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$17K to plant a tree?
I'd be happy to put some effort and even a small amount of money into planting a tree, but $17k is a bit out of my price range.
Also, don't get me wrong, I think planting trees is great and all, but for $250 million, shouldn't they be looking at cleaning up all the hazardous waste in the city? Look at Gowanus and they say oil still seeps out of the ground in Greenpoint from that huge spill. I know trees help clean the air, but it seems like there are better ways to spend all of that money. Why not say we'll plant 100,000 trees (still a lot) and spend the rest cleaning up old industrial sites?
How about the money it takes to clean up the trees when a storm hits or when the leaves fall down in the fall?
If 16% of the city's population purchased a 4-5 inch diameter tree and shovel,($40) and planted them in designated locations, the target would be achieved. Doesn't seem like that much of an effort to me. Follow the growers planting recommendations and your done. The city's main concerns of air quality, storm water management and brownfield cleanup are all vital to the improvement of the quality of life that we should all expect. We must become a part of our communities and citizens of New York, and stop being consumers obsessed with preserving every last cent for the future(A future that is in so much jeopardy.) If we invest now it will be less expensive and more beneficial than waiting until the problems gets worse, and attempting to retroactively correct the issues. How do think we got where we are today?
A friend of mine is working on a greening program in San Fran. They have found a company willing to donate some money towards trees so residents only pay $150 for any type of tree they want. Then the greening program sets it up w/ the city, tears open the sidewalk, plants it, etc...
Gotham Unleashed, both of those issues are also being addressed as we speak. Cleaning up hazardous waste is important and in progress, but it does not create living C02 sinks.
Could someone please explain how the frickety-frack it costs $17,000 to plant a tree?
I'm trying to think of salaries/benefits/workers' comp for the planters, equipment for breaking through concrete and digging holes, the trees themselves, trucks to carry them, maintenance of the tree, but... still... $17,000? Really?
I bought a 3-year-old flowering pear tree at Home Depot for $11.98 during an Arbor Day sale. It's 7 feet high and it took me about 20 minutes to plant it in my Brooklyn backyard with a 6-inch garden shovel.
How about greening some roofs?
Throw some self-sufficient plants up there, reduce the need for summertime cooling, grab a few veggies or herbs?
I planted some Basil, Chives, parsely, etc. on my roof, and set up a nice (odorless) compost container on our bleak grey roof. Everything was nice and neat, off the ground, really sweet.
Landlord acted as if I put a frigging nuclear reactor up there.
Better we green the roofs, trees have their probs.
Dadoc
How about the Park police start handing out fines to people who cut down newly planted trees? Take a stroll around the newly repaved part of Flushing Ave in Bushwick and see how many trees were chopped down by the warehouse owners.
If they were interfering with right of way, they probably needed to be chopped down.
I don't care how many trees you want to plant, if it interferes with my business, you can go fuck yourself.
Hippie.
a 4-5" diameter tree is big and expensive. you can join arbor day foundation for $10 and get 10 smaller saplings for free.
there are plenty of groups and volunteers that can do this if they are provided with locations.
see arborday.org
Some New York City Council Members are taking the initiative to fill the knowledge gap that exists, even before digging new roots into City soil.
For example, this past July 26th, for the fifth year in a row, interns at New York City Council Member Gale A. Brewer's (6th District) office mobilized volunteers and conducted a thorough block-by-block tree survey of her West Side district.
The aim of the tree survey is to gather extensive data on the current stock of trees on the city streets, and to locate areas that need to be replanted. When the report is finished, it will be submitted to NYC Parks Department so that new trees can be planted and problem areas can be fixed.
-Shirin Soufian and George Lee, Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer. For further feedback or to share your ideas, please e-mail us at: brewerpress@gmail.com.
To the "Guest" who owns a business:
The only 'right of way' on a sidewalk (where trees exist) is for pedestrians and cars entering a driveway. Assuming that the trees are not planted in a driveway, business owners have no 'right' to chop them down. The sidewalks belong to the public--not to the property owner.
Dippie.