LOWER EAST SIDE (PIX11) — Some of New York’s best citizens give everything and only ask for some water in return.
We are talking about the city’s nearly one million trees. And if you are a fan, there is a way to show your appreciation.
New York City is home to more than 7 million trees spanning more than 100 species.
They are incredibly hard working, soaking up more than a billion gallons of stormwater runoff, sucking a million and a half pounds of air-borne pollutants each year.
Giving back more than a hundred million dollars in benefits to all of us each year.
In appreciation, the city is planting even more of them in the neighborhoods that most need them.
More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State
Across the boroughs, the city is using a targeted approach to get trees to the neighborhoods most vulnerable to extreme heat and its effects.
The city planted the greatest number of trees in this past decade, with the parks department adding more than 18,000 this past year.
They do a lot for all of us, clean the air, protect us from flooding, and shade our buildings and lower energy costs.
The city is looking to create a tree canopy that covers fully a third of the city.
They planted the most in a decade by starting earlier in the spring, mulching and watering all summer. And plan to get a jump on the fall planting season as well.
Recognizing that urban flooding is getting worse due to climate change, the city foresters and arborists say they are putting NYC parks at the cutting edge of urban forestry and planting in a more targeted way for the neighborhoods that need shade and relief from extreme heat the most.
From Soundview and Morris Park in the Bronx to east Harlem and the lower east side in Manhattan.
Hunters point and Long Island City in Queens and Bushwick and east Flatbush in Brooklyn, are some of the neighborhoods getting more plantings.
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