"It's not easy being green," laments Kermit the Frog, however, if he travels to New York City his sadness will turn to joy in the company of thousands of green street trees as part of a recent proposal put forward by the Department of City Planning (DCP).
Deborah Carney, deputy director of the Queens DCP office, told the members of Community Board 10 at their meeting last Thursday evening at the Knights of Columbus Hall in South Ozone Park that the department believes that their street trees proposal will contribute to the greening of the city, the greening of the community, and ultimately improve the quality of life in the city. Mayor Bloomberg's goal is to plant one million trees in the city over the next decade.
Under the mayor's plan, the Parks Department would receive nearly $400 million over the next 10 years to plant 600,000 public trees, by reforesting 2,000 acres of existing parkland and lining streets with new trees. The plan calls for non-profit and community groups, businesses, developers, and community residents to plant the remaining 400,000 trees.
DCP has proposed zoning changes that would require the planting of street trees as a condition of new developments, major enlargements of existing projects, and some building conversions. If adopted, the proposal, now under public review, could generate roughly 10,000 new trees each year. The average street tree in New York City intercepts over 1,400 gallons of storm water each year, while reducing energy costs and air pollution.
DCP's proposed requirements for street trees for new developments, enlargements of 20 percent or more and some changes of use would be based on frontage, requiring one street tree for every 25 feet of street frontage, with a minimum requirement of one street tree. Existing street trees in front of the property could fulfill the requirement.
Carney said that although the property owner would be responsible for planting the trees, the Parks Department would be responsible for maintaining them.
The NYC Department of Parks reported that the 2005/2006 Street Tree Census found 592,130 street trees in the city - a 19 percent increase over the 1995/1996 census.
Queens remains the borough with the most trees, with just over 40 percent of the total population, or 239,882 trees. The top ten trees are the London Planetree, Norway Maple, Callery Pear, Honeylocust, Pine Oak, Littleleaf Linden, Green Ash, Red Maple, Silver Maple, and Ginkgo.
DCP officials noted that in keeping with the Bloomberg Administration's PlaNYC 2030 plan, the department is undertaking other "green" initiatives. In addition to the street tree requirements, a proposal for new regulations that would green new commercial parking lots is currently undergoing public review. City planning also recently initiated public review on a zoning change to establish landscaping requirements for yards throughout the city, and prohibit excessive paving in the front yards of homes in residential communities.
The new citywide requirements are being considered by the 59 community boards and the five borough presidents. Following their recommendations, the City Planning Commission will hold its own public hearings on the proposals, which will subsequently require approval by the City Council.
