Only 2.2% of New Street Trees Adopted As Part Of MillionTreesNYC Program

A Dead Tree planted as part of the MillionTreesNYC program - Juniper Valley Park, July 26, 2010. A major component of the Bloomberg administration's MillionTreesNYC initiative is failing spectacularly as the city is failing to get volunteers to care for the newly planted trees. Critics have long pointed out that the program is unsustainable due to the reliance of volunteers instead of allocating dedicated funding for employees to care for the city owned trees.  Only 1,372 new street trees out of the 60,000 planted citywide are receiving water, weeding and other services from official adoptive parents, according to the special events and volunteer coordinator for MillionTreesNYC. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click in images to enlarge.

City-Wide

The Parks Department is asking city residents to adopt one of the more than 7,000 new trees that have come to Manhattan's congested avenues and bustling side streets over the past few years, as part of the MillionTreesNYC initiative, according to DNAinfo.

MillionTreesNYC ID band from dead tree-Juniper Valley Park, July 26, 2010.

To make sure potential adoptive parents are prepared for the rigors of parenting street trees, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council hosted a tutorial in proper urban flora care Tuesday at LentSpace, a temporary tree nursery in Hudson Square.

"Up to this point, I had no idea who or what took care of street trees," said workshop attendee Christian Gloddy, 34, who lives in the East Village and writes software.

As of now, only 1,372 new street trees out of the 60,000 planted citywide are receiving water, weeding and other services from official adoptive parents, said Ellen Arnstein, the special events and volunteer coordinator for MillionTreesNYC.

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Thousands of New Trees Looking for Loving City Parents

The Parks Department wants residents to adopt one of over 7, 000 new street trees in Manhattan

DNAinfo - September 15,  2010  - By Tara Kyle