Help Make Neighborhood A Greener Place
A growing tradition in the heart of Forest Hills, the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance will hold their tree giveaway on Sunday, May 19, from 1 to 3 p.m. at MacDonald Park.
Residents can come to the park located on Queens Boulevard and 70th Avenue and adopt one of six unique species among 200 trees, which adopters will take home and plant on private property. This will be the alliance’s fourth tree giveaway since June 2011, which will bring its donations up to 645 trees.
Years earlier, the alliance had the sole mission of advocating for landmarks and curbing overdevelopment, but then realized how trees comple- ment architecture and are an important element in restoring the city’s historic landscapes.
The New York Restoration Project began coordinating tree giveaways in 2008. Inspiration stemmed from the understanding that Million- TreesNYC was focused on greening public spaces, but private homes, apartment buildings, religious institutions, and community gardens also represent a great percentage of the city which merits tree-planting.
This season, nearly 30 tree giveaway events are being coordinated, and nine are being hosted in Queens. As a result, New York City’s urban landscape will have approximately 4,500 new trees. Since the inception of tree giveaways, greater than 18,000 trees have been planted.
Forest Hills Tree Giveaway Event Organizer and Preservationist Michael Perlman stated, “Many community residents did not realize the benefits of trees, until some of which were a century-old succumbed in seconds during the September 2010 macroburst, which was followed by Hurricane Irene in August 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Trees enhance a community’s aesthetics and property values, and most significantly contribute to its environmental sustainability.”
New York Restoration Project Community Initiatives Manager Mike Mitchell added, “The trees we give away will clean our air and water, reducing run-off and filtering particulate matter from the air for generations. The value of a city’s urban forest will only increase as rainstorms become more severe and levels of particulate matter increase in our atmosphere.”
Once again, MacDonald Park was selected as the event site to initiate memories relating to its value to the community since 1933. The park lost 60 trees during the tornado that struck the community in September 2010.
Trees available for adoption will consist of 50 Witch-Hazel, 50 Natchez Crape Myrtle, 25 Leonard Messel Magnolia, 25 Centennial Magnolia, 25 Persian Ironwood, and 25 Dawn Redwood. This will add to the more frequently planted trees throughout the city over the years, such as Oak, Maple, Sycamore, Honey Locust, and Gingko.
Hoping that each tree adopter will feel as if their tree is part of their extended family, volunteer Steve Goodman is designing tree adoption certificates. Trees will be named after local historic sites such as the Forest Hills Theatre, notable local figures such as Architect Grosvenor Atterbury and Helen Keller, and historic street names such as Roman Avenue (72nd Avenue) and Ascan Avenue, which will educate the public while granting the trees an identity.
In addition to the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance, there will be volunteers from Rego- Forest Preservation Council, Trylon Vet Care, the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce, Forest Hills Jewish Center, Parker Towers, and Key Food. Tree-inspired artwork with poetry and slogans is expected to complement the tree giveaway site.
In advance of the giveaway, tree adopters may reserve their tree by logging on to www.treegiveaways.com/4bnpa.php.
