Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 1
Committee: Committee on Parks and Recreation
0:07 A seat. This quiet, please.
0:07 Fine. Thank you. Good morning
0:11 and welcome to the New York
0:13 City hybrid hand on a
0:13 committee on parks and rec of
0:15 design, please. Silent, all
0:18 electronic
0:19 . Devices they have any
0:19 questions because with your
0:20 hands or one was a sergeant at
0:21 arms will kindly assist you
0:24 ,chair, we are ready to begin
0:28 . Already. Good morning. I'm
0:29 Ty Hankerson, chair of the
0:30 committee on parks and
0:32 recreation. I'd like to
0:33 welcome everyone who has come
0:35 to participate in today's
0:35 hearing on how we can ensure
0:37 our cities. Trees are properly
0:39 cared for so they can thrive
0:40 in the near and long term the
0:45 importance of trees to New
0:47 yorkers is obvious they are
0:47 the front line in providing
0:51 for healthy environment. Trees
0:52 improve water quality by
0:53 filtering and diverting
0:55 stormwater runoff filter high
0:57 frequency noises and provide
0:58 habitats for wildlife
1:01 . They also help reduce the
1:02 urban heat island effect bring
1:04 people closer to nature. Coo
1:07 lthe air, the air and hot
1:11 weather and improve air
1:12 quality by reducing pollution.
1:13 Various studies have estimated
1:14 that tree's reduced annual
1:16 residential energy costs by
1:18 $17 million per year and
1:20 reduce runoff by 69 million
1:21 cubic feet per year
1:25 . In terms of where trees are
1:27 just over half of the stock is
1:28 managed by the parks
1:32 department
1:32 . This amounts to about 28%
1:35 .20. It's a good now that are
1:36 in parks and 25% that are on
1:38 streets or other rights of way
1:42 . About a third of the canopy
1:43 is on private land and the
1:45 remaining 11% on land that is
1:47 owned by various other
1:48 government and disease,
1:49 typically the highest numbers
1:51 of tree cover. Excuse me.
1:53 Typically the highest numbers
1:54 of tree cover is found in
1:55 areas of large parts and I
1:58 nneighborhoods that have lower
1:59 population density levels, the
2:00 lowest tree cover can be found
2:02 in heavily developed and dense
2:06 areas despite their importance
2:07 . The process for maintaining
2:09 planting and increasing the
2:10 overall number of trees
2:11 throughout the City can often
2:14 be overlooked and not very
2:15 transparent, too New yorkers.
2:19 That's why I wanted to focus
2:20 on this issue for our first
2:22 hearing as the parks committee
2:26 . Nothing shows how a City
2:27 treats us infrastructure more
2:28 clearly than the volume it
2:31 places on caring for its trees
2:33 in terms of the process
2:36 .commissioner shiva maura and
2:37 her team will surely speak to
2:38 it in greater detail today,
2:41 but briefly the process
2:42 involved in maintaining trees
2:45 by the parks department has
2:48 many facets. It includes a
2:48 block by block pruning
2:50 schedule contracting wit
2:52 hvarious businesses to maintain
2:54 trees engaging nonprofit
2:55 organizations to help plant
2:56 preserve and protect trees and
2:58 an inspection process through
3:00 the part up through the park
3:01 inspection program, or pip, in
3:04 which inspections on park
3:06 properties, including trees,
3:07 are carried out routinely,
3:09 it's no surprise to anyone
3:12 . That over the years and
3:13 indeed, very recently the
3:14 department's budget for
3:16 maintenance has suffered ups
3:20 and downs. It was stretched
3:20 from once every seven years t
3:23 oonce every 15 years before
3:25 being brought back to every
3:30 seven years again.
3:30 Though some of those funds
3:31 have been restored with the
3:32 most recent budget issues
3:37 persist. We've talked about
3:38 difficulties that 27 budget
3:40 face I am very, very concerned
3:44 because tree related issues
3:45 are nothing to be dismissed or
3:46 treat it lightly. For example,
3:50 three of the top fiv
3:51 ecategories of parks related
3:52 through in one calls involved
3:53 complaints about trees
3:56 ,including concerns over
3:57 premature deaths. Two New
4:00 trees, broken tree limbs and
4:01 sidewalk damaged resulting
4:02 from growing tree roots.
4:04 Additionally, numerous tragic
4:05 incidents over the years have
4:07 occurred where bystanders I've
4:08 been severely injured and even
4:09 killed from falling tree
4:13 branches, many from trees tha
4:13 thave been weakened due to
4:16 severe weather. I hope to use
4:17 this hearing to examine ways
4:18 by which we can improve the
4:21 maintenance and inspection
4:23 processes, including looking
4:24 at how recent local laws
4:25 enacted by the council are
4:26 being implemented to this end
4:30 at today's hearing. I als
4:30 owant to make sure we push for
4:33 meaningful action to expand
4:33 our tree cannot be equitably
4:35 so more communities especially
4:37 underserved communities that
4:38 have long lacked green space
4:40 are better protected from the
4:41 dangers of urban heat.
4:44 Research shows that the mos
4:45 tvulnerable communities, those
4:46 with lower average incomes
4:48 higher percentages of people
4:49 of color and higher rankings
4:51 and higher ranking on the heat
4:53 vulnerability index tended to
4:54 have lower tree canopy. This
4:57 is a sad reality, but one that
5:00 can be fixed with the right
5:01 amount of political will to
5:04 allocate resources necessary
5:06 to make equitable tree
5:07 coverage in green space access
5:09 a reality for all New yorkers
5:10 ,no matter where you live or
5:11 where you come from.
5:15 Many advocates have bee
5:15 nworking for years on this
5:16 issue, for example, the fars
5:18 for all coalition did
5:19 extensive work studying our
5:21 urban forests to help City
5:23 policy policymakers understan
5:24 dthe best steps to protect and
5:25 grow up canopy. As a result,
5:28 the council passed local law
5:29 hundred 48 of 20 23, which
5:31 requires the creation of an
5:33 urban forest plan that aims to
5:34 help the City expand the tree
5:36 canopy from the current 22%
5:38 coverage to 30% coverage. I
5:42 want to ensure that this
5:42 council and committee support
5:43 all efforts that aimed to
5:44 increase the quality and
5:46 quantity of City trees and how
5:48 the City strategically plan
5:49 for the long term future of
5:50 the urban forests, all levels
5:54 of government needs to get
5:55 serious in treating our tree
5:57 stock as crucial
5:59 infrastructure that must be
6:01 supported with sufficient
6:02 resources and equitably
6:03 distributed to all parts of
6:07 our City, we deserve no less
6:08 and the well being of our
6:09 environment and the health of
6:10 each and every New yorker
6:11 depends on this reality
6:15 . I'd like to welcome everyone
6:16 who asked him to participate
6:17 in this hearing and offer
6:19 testimony today. Thank you
6:19 again and welcome. Now I'll
6:22 turn this over to our
6:24 committee counsel criticism
6:25 torie to swear in the members
6:26 of the parks department. Thank
6:33 you. Sure would, commissioner
6:33 show maura and the
6:34 representatives of the parks
6:35 department, please raise your
6:36 right hand if you're able, do
6:39 you affirm to tell the truth
6:40 ,the whole truth and nothing
6:40 but the truth in your
6:42 testimony before this
6:43 committee and to respond
6:44 honestly to counsel member
6:47 maybe I hope everyone can hear
7:01 me. Good morning chair
7:03 .Hankerson, members of the
7:04 parks committee and other
7:05 members of the City Council. I
7:07 am trisha shimamura,
7:08 commissioner of New York City
7:11 parks. I am pleased to be
7:11 joined today by our assistant
7:12 commissioner, forestry and
7:14 horticulture ben osborne a
7:15 swell as our chief of City wide
7:17 legislative affairs match.
7:18 Terry. We're also pleased to
7:19 be joined by our colleagues
7:20 from the mayor's office of
7:22 climate and environmental
7:23 justice, including the say
7:25 these cheap climate officer
7:26 louise young and their deputy
7:27 executive director paula zito.
7:31 I'm honored to be here for my
7:33 first opportunity to formall
7:34 ytestify on behalf of the
7:36 agency as commissioner so as
7:37 I'd like, so I'd like to take
7:39 a brief moment to share a
7:40 little bit about my personal
7:43 history. I had the opportunity
7:44 to work with many of you in my
7:45 most recent role as parks,
7:47 manhattan borough commissioner
7:47 as well as some of the other
7:49 government rule governmental
7:50 roles I served in these recent
7:52 years, but I actually began my
7:53 career in public service as a
7:54 social worker in sheepshead
7:56 bay, brooklyn, working with
7:56 students in there. Families
7:59 like many of those families I
8:00 grew up believing the
8:01 government was not something
8:01 meant for people who
8:03 necessarily look like me or
8:04 came from families like mine
8:05 and the problems we
8:07 encountered often seem too
8:08 broken and too large for any
8:09 one person to be able to fix,
8:12 but through that experience, I
8:13 started to see government,
8:14 it's not only a way to deliver
8:15 change but also a way to
8:16 deliver belonging in a City
8:18 that so many called home and
8:20 our City parks and open spaces
8:22 are hugely important component
8:23 of that making that a reality.
8:27 I was humbled to be appointed
8:27 by Mayor mom donny to lea
8:28 dthis agency that I love so
8:30 much and which touches the
8:31 lives of millions of New
8:32 yorkers each and every day. I
8:35 deeply appreciate and
8:36 understand that the agency. I
8:37 now have the honor of leading
8:39 has a mandate to uphold and a
8:41 critical role to play in the
8:42 future of our City and I look
8:43 forward to working
8:45 productively and cooperatively
8:46 with the council so that we
8:47 can give New York is the
8:48 incredible part City park
8:49 system that they sued so truly
8:52 deserved. I'd like to begin my
8:53 testimony today by noting our
8:54 appreciation for the council's
8:56 continued advocacy for our
8:57 City parks and for the reasons
8:59 resources and support a
9:00 sprovided for our horse efforts
9:03 . The city's urban canopy is
9:04 one of the most vital
9:05 resources, the City has an
9:06 ensuring our neighborhoods are
9:08 healthy and thriving. It
9:10 provides numerous unmeasurable
9:11 measurable benefits t
9:12 oeveryone living in the five
9:15 boroughs, including improving
9:15 human health and well being,
9:16 and I am proud of the work,
9:18 our park, ese do every day t
9:20 ogrow and protect our City
9:23 streets get the importance of
9:24 our urban canopy can be often
9:26 overlooked and undervalued
9:26 even in our city's true, even
9:28 though our cities. Trees are
9:30 essential living
9:31 infrastructure just as vital
9:32 for New yorkers as roads,
9:34 subways and telecommunication
9:37 lines. New York City has
9:38 nearly 43000 acres of tree
9:40 canopy, a full 23.4% of the
9:43 city's land area, which is
9:45 best defined as the cover or
9:46 shape provided by our City
9:49 trees, this robust urban
9:50 forest provides an incredible
9:52 array of environmental, social
9:54 and economic benefits such as
9:55 reducing stormwater runoff,
9:57 shading buildings and
9:58 conserving energy by reducin
9:59 gheating and cooling costs
10:02 ,protecting cities pavement
10:03 from rain and sun noise
10:05 mitigation, increasing
10:06 property values and of course,
10:07 cleaning and cooling the air
10:09 benefiting our overall health
10:10 and well being, though a lot
10:13 of the pacific public's
10:14 attention is focused on the
10:15 value of planting New trees,
10:17 it is important to note that
10:18 the benefits of from tree
10:21 canopy increased exponentially
10:22 when you protect and nourish
10:23 the growth of the larger,
10:24 healthy trees that already
10:27 exist. We are proud to be
10:28 known as the agency of trees,
10:30 our agency logo recognized
10:31 around the world is literally
10:33 symbolized by a tree leaf and
10:34 New York City parks is
10:36 responsible for roughly half
10:37 of the city's tree canopy
10:38 nearly 23000 acres the rest of
10:42 our city's tree canopy grows
10:42 on a combination of private
10:44 and public land parcels such
10:46 as residential front and back
10:48 yards, cemeteries, vacant land
10:50 and oer lthands of public
10:51 lands not managed by New York
10:52 City parks such as nitric
10:58 campuses, the trees that mak
10:59 eup the canopy under our care
11:00 generally fall into one of
11:02 three categories they're
11:02 located in one of our natural
11:04 forests in landscape areas of
11:06 a park and long our City
11:07 streets, some of these streets
11:10 , we estimate that there are
11:10 nearly 5 million trees in our
11:13 national natural forests and
11:13 those are managed by our
11:15 agencies natural resource
11:16 group as part of the forest
11:18 ecosystem, which includes
11:20 understory vegetation, soils
11:23 and wildlife. We will welcome
11:24 the opportunity to further
11:24 discuss the care of our
11:25 natural forests and other
11:26 related topics with the
11:28 council, but maintaining and
11:30 growing our cities tree stock
11:31 is an incredibly sweeping
11:33 subject encompassing many
11:35 technical and complex nuances
11:36 .so for the purposes of today's
11:38 hearing. We'd like to focus on
11:39 our street trees and trees and
11:43 landscaped parks. These are
11:44 the trees that are
11:44 individually managed by our
11:45 agency nearly 823000 trees
11:48 over 666000, of which are
11:52 along and nearly a hundred
11:54 57000 of which are growing in
11:55 landscape areas of parks. I'd
11:59 like to provide a quick update
12:00 on the trees impact resulting
12:01 from late february's winter
12:03 storm fernando, which produced
12:04 the most significant impacts
12:05 we've witnessed from a
12:06 snowstorm since 20 18. I'
12:10 mgrateful to our expert
12:10 forestry crews at parks into
12:12 our partners on the down tree
12:15 force, including emergency
12:16 management department of
12:18 sanitation y nypd, who worked
12:20 as one team to respond to the
12:21 reports we were hearing from
12:23 the public and bring some
12:24 normalcy back to our City.
12:27 During the course of the storm
12:27 we received more than 180
12:30 0tree related service t
12:30 orequest, which included a
12:33 significant proportion of
12:34 duplicate requests related to
12:35 the same concern as often
12:37 happens during storms after
12:39 performing over 120
12:40 0inspections, all of which were
12:42 were completed within 48 hours
12:43 of the end of the storm are.
12:45 Forrester is confirmed that a
12:46 total of 220 fallen trees do
12:50 the storm, including 47 that
12:51 we're blocking streets and