New York City is taking fresh steps to expand its urban tree canopy and bring long-overdue green benefits to communities that have historically been left out of the shade.
On May 15 at Thomas Jefferson Park, the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ), in partnership with the Parks Department and a coalition of environmental groups, launched borough-based Urban Forest Planning Workshops. The goal is to increase citywide tree coverage to 30 % of land area, up from the current 23.4 %.
At the session, MOCEJ Executive Director Elijah Hutchinson outlined the stakes in a pre-recorded video.“Our charge is to have a plan, through PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done, to reach a 30 % tree canopy goal,” Hutchinson said. “And we’ll talk about how to do so equitably.” Equity is at the core of the effort, as areas with sparse tree cover often face hotter streets, higher asthma rates, worse air quality, and greater flood risk.
Data shared at the workshop shows that while 58% of the city’s existing tree canopy is on city-owned property, such as parks and streets, 34% is on private land, including homes, businesses, and institutions.“That presents a major opportunity,” said Paul Onyx Lozito, MOCEJ deputy executive director. “We can — and should — partner with private property owners to expand the canopy across residential and commercial lots.”
Between 2017 and 2021, the city saw a 1.2 % increase in canopy coverage, totaling over 45,000 acres. However, Lozito noted that it’s not enough. “Most of the canopy growth we’ll see comes from cultivating young trees to maturity. The more mature a tree is, the more benefits it provides.”
Northwest Queens, lag with less than 14%. The city aims to address these disparities by planting trees “wherever practical,” Lozito said.
“I live in the Bronx by Palm Bay Park. Have I ever experienced an environmental hazard that was caused by the lack of trees… yeah, just being alive in this time period. I do think that they all contribute to the lack of trees and other environmental factors,” said Sarah Maloney, a Hunter College student who attended the event and is interning at Natural Areas Conservancy.
But planting is just one part of the equation. City officials are rooting for the protection, care for, and nurturing of trees long-term, with much of the chatter centered on community focus, especially critical in places like East Harlem, where environmental burdens are concentrated. “The asthma rate here is really high,” said Karina Smith, Assistant Commissioner of Strategic Community Engagement. “We’re trying to address climate equity and green equity. It’s our responsibility to think about those coming behind us.”
The initiative is backed by Local Law 148 of 2023, which requires the creation of an Urban Forest Plan centered on public input. The borough-based workshops are key to that process. “That’s why we’re holding these sessions,” Hutchinson said. “We want to hear your ideas, experiences, and recommendations as we develop this plan together.”
Public input will also be informed by research like the State of the Urban Forest report by The Nature Conservancy, which highlights where trees are needed most. In addition to The Nature Conservancy, the city is working with organizations such as City Parks Foundation, Partnerships for Parks, and local advisory groups from institutions like NYU to turn this vision into reality.