By Kori Tuitt
The Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance Tree Giveaway Event will be hosted in Forest Hills for the first time this Sunday.
On June 12 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., the tree giveaway will take place at MacDonald Park, at 70th Avenue and Queens Boulevard. One hundred trees will be distributed based on a first-come, first-serve basis and are limited to one tree per property owner.
People will be given the option of adopting either a cherry or blackgum tree by completing an agreement. The trees are approximately 7 to 8 feet tall, 30 pounds and potted. It is a requirement that each tree be planted on private property within a few days after the event.
Following the devastation of parts of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island from the rare macroburst last fall, 4BNPA Queens Vice President Michael Perlman sent a proposal to the New York Restoration Project. In order to restore the natural beauty of the area, 4BNPA agreed to host a tree giveaway in the area. Volunteers and members from the Rego-Forest Preservation Council, which Perlman chairs, in Rego Park and Forest Hills have helped support the event.
“Many people don’t realize the benefits of our trees, until some of which were a century old succumbed in seconds,” said Perlman. “MacDonald Park was selected as the event site in order to shed light upon a concentrated space that lost 60 mature and historic trees and to initiate memories of a positive community event.”
Joseph Bruno, of the city Office of Emergency Management, reported 3,113 fallen trees in Queens and 4,000 more damaged. Some of the more severely damaged trees included sycamore, oak, maple, linden, cherry, apple blossoms, evergreen and weeping willow. The fallen trees had also caused damage to cars, utility poles and traffic lights. A fallen tree caused the death of 30-year-old Pennsylvania-resident Aline Levakis on the Grand Central Parkway.
The event was made possible by the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance in partnership with the New York Restoration Project and MillionTreesNYC. For more information, visit regoforestpreservation.blogspot.com or milliontreesnyc.org.
