Forest for All NYC Members turn out to strongly support new legislation requiring a NYC urban forest plan, vital tree canopy monitoring, and the long overdue consideration of trees in the City’s long-term planning essential to meeting Mayor Adam’s ambitious PlaNYC 30% canopy goal
June 13, 2023 NEW YORK, NY – Nearly a year after the City Council held its first-ever hearing on urban forest canopy, the Forest for All NYC coalition applauds newly introduced legislation that will help the City protect and expand its more than 7 million trees and require ongoing monitoring of canopy cover across the city. These actions will increase community resiliency, equity, and quality of life through protection, maintenance, and expansion of the New York City urban forest. By mandating its first master plan, New York would join other large municipalities like Denver, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Sacramento, and Charlotte who have already taken this action. Dozens of local organizations across business, nonprofit, conservation, and environmental justice sectors presented or submitted testimony to ensure city officials pass these newly introduced bills as quickly as possible.
The urban forest serves as critical natural infrastructure and provides myriad social, environmental, and economic and public health benefits, including cooling, shading, energy efficiency, cleaner air, stormwater absorption and filtration, increased property values, enhanced mental and physical health, and improved business activity. As New York City faces the challenges of increasing climate change impacts, trees help mitigate the full impact of heat waves, extreme rain events, and flooding that New Yorkers are experiencing with more regularity. As we approach summer, we’re reminded that extreme heat is the leading cause of death of New Yorkers, threatening our residents lives more than any weather event.
Forest for All NYC is advancing the NYC Urban Forest Agenda and through their leadership have educated and built support for policies and goals to strengthen the urban forest. Through their advocacy, the majority of New York City Council members recently penned a letter supporting the City adopting a goal of achieving at least 30 percent tree canopy cover equitably by 2035 and all five Borough Presidents united to call for a million more trees by 2030. The coalition was appreciative when Mayor Adams heeded calls to protect the urban forest including an ambitious and attainable goal to increase the tree canopy to 30% cover to address extreme heat in his updated PlaNYC announcement. The actions of this legislation, first proposed in the NYC Urban Forest Agenda in 2021, are essential to tracking and meeting this goal by the year 2035. Forest for All NYC looks forward to working with the City Council and Mayor Adams’ administration to see it gets done.
“Our coalition works tirelessly to advocate about the importance of protecting, expanding, and monitoring the urban forest. We thank the NYC Council for their leadership mandating we have the right information, metrics, and a plan to ensure we achieve at least 30% tree canopy cover by 2035 equitably,” said Emily Nobel Maxwell, Cities Director for The Nature Conservancy in New York, convener and leading member of Forest for All NYC. “The urban forest can literally help lives in the face of extreme heat. Forest for All NYC is thrilled to work with City leadership to advance this critical legislation that will benefit our urban forest.”
“Trees New York has built a groundswell of support for the NYC urban forest. Whether training and engaging a pool of volunteers committed to supporting and advocating for our trees, doubling the number of our Citizen Tree Pruners, or planting 2,000 trees in the Bronx, we see firsthand the value of planting and maintaining our tree canopy,” said Nelson Villarrubia, Executive Director of Trees New York. “With climate change showing its true impact every day, this legislation couldn’t come at a better time. By creating an urban forest master plan and incorporating trees into our city’s long-term planning efforts, we ‘ll be able to track the progress and ensure we meet the goal of a 30% tree canopy by the year 2035.”
“As a proud member of the leadership committee of the Forest for All NYC Coalition, the Natural Areas Conservancy is in support of efforts to expand the canopy coverage of our urban forest to 30% of New York City’s land by 2035,” said Sarah Charlop-Powers, Executive Director of the Natural Areas Conservancy. “This is an exciting opportunity to acknowledge the critical role of our urban forest in mitigating the impacts of climate change on our city, and to highlight the need to better manage and protect our existing forested natural areas, which include 5 million trees throughout the five boroughs.”
“The New York City Environmental Justice Alliance is happy to see these bills being introduced and thanks Council Members Bottcher, Krishnan, Brewer and Louis for uplifting the need for them, as growing and maintaining our urban forest is a crucial piece of the puzzle in the fight against climate change,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. “We need to give trees and green space the level of support that they deserve, given the huge variety and scale of benefits they can provide. That said, we encourage the City Council to include language addressing equity and environmental justice so that the most vulnerable frontline communities, who are most in need of increased tree coverage and maintenance, can be centered in this legislation.”
“We applaud the proposed legislation to amend the New York City charter, recognizing the crucial role of trees, tree canopy, and vegetation in the city’s long-term sustainability planning. These forward-thinking bills exemplify a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and lays the foundation for a greener, more resilient future for New York City,” said Rami Dinnawi, Environmental Justice Campaign & Policy Manager at El Puente. “This represents a remarkable opportunity for New York City to lead by example and inspire other municipalities worldwide to prioritize urban resiliency and justice. We urge all stakeholders to rally behind these bills, recognizing its potential to create a more livable, resilient, and environmentally conscious city for current and future generations.”
“Every New Yorker deserves to fall under the spell of the natural world, every day—nature that is outside one’s door, on the way to the store, the subway, or school. Nature is not just for summer excursions to “the country,” or for the fortunate; it is here in the city and it has never been more essential to the health and survival of our New York. Trees are the biggest part of nature; indeed they are the largest organism on land. We need more of them,” said Len Maniace, Board Member for the Jackson Heights Beautification Group. “That’s why the Jackson Heights Beautification Group supports legislation now before the Council to require the City consider trees, tree canopy and vegetation in its long-term planning; and to produce an Urban Forest Plan that includes regular monitoring of progress toward the tree canopy goal of at least a 30%, equitably distributed through our city.”
“An urban forest is a powerful weapon against climate change and an equitable distribution of tree canopy is crucial to protecting communities that face disproportionate impacts. That is why NYLCV stands with the Forest for All Coalition supporting two City Council bills that reinforce our commitment to combating climate change and promoting equity,” said Alia Soomro, Deputy Director of NYC Policy for the New York League of Conservation Voters. “By developing an Urban Forest Master Plan, aiming for 30% canopy cover, and by ensuring trees and vegetation are considered in long-term planning, we will enhance resilience and access to nature in the city while creating a more sustainable, equitable future for all New Yorkers.”
“This legislation is true progress the City Council can make toward fostering a healthy urban forest that serves all New Yorkers,” said Alexander Bender, Co-Founder + Managing Partner at TriLox. “As a local business centered on sustainable forestry and a Forest For All NYC coalition member, Tri-Lox supports both of these bills and appreciates City Council’s commitment to advancing the NYC Urban Forest Agenda by enshrining the monitoring, protection, and growth of our urban forest into law.”