(More) trees  
 grow in Brooklyn 
 How the boro’s tree canopy has changed  
 and what it means for Brooklyn’s future  
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 COURIER L 4     IFE, NOV. 26-DEC. 2, 2021 
 BY BEN VERDE 
 Brooklyn’s urban forest  
 saw growth during the 2010s,  
 part  of  a  citywide  trend,  but  
 researchers  say  those  gains  
 are  threatened  by  climate  
 change  and  need  investment  
 to be maintained.  
 A new study from the Nature  
 Conservancy follows the  
 growth  of  New  York  City’s  
 tree canopy between 2010 and  
 2017, which saw Brooklyn increase  
 its  overall  tree  canopy  
 by 1.91 percent — but not  
 without some persistent challenges. 
   
 Wealthier neighborhoods  
 have  traditionally  been  
 graced with greater  tree coverage, 
   which  brings  with  it  
 benefi ts of cleaner air, cooler  
 temperatures,  and  absorption  
 of storm waters, while  
 under-resourced  areas  have  
 traditionally  been  deprived.  
 Data  from  the  study  shows  
 that  wealthier,  whiter  neighborhoods  
 still have the upper  
 hand,  but  progress  is  being  
 made to bridge the gap  
 — thanks in part to community 
 level  programs  like  the  
 Trees for Public Health Initiative  
 and Cool Neighborhoods  
 NYC. 
 “Both of those initiatives  
 were  by  their  design  timebound, 
  but they are really  
 great examples of the kind of  
 initiatives that the city can  
 keep investing in, and perhaps  
 invest  in  a  longer  term  
 way  in  order  to  continue  to  
 expand canopy in lower-income  
 communities  of  color,”  
 said Emily Nobel Maxwell,  
 director  of  the  Nature  Conservancy’s  
 cities  program  in  
 New  York  and  co-author  of  
 the study. 
 According to the study, the  
 tree canopy in the 41st Council  
 District including parts of  
 Crown  Heights  and  Brownsville  
 increased from 283.8  
 acres in 2010 to 329.5 acres in  
 2017, while the 42nd Council  
 District encompassing East  
 New  York  saw  an  increase  
 from 463.8 acres to 582.9 over  
 the same period.  
 More well-off neighborhoods  
 have also continued to  
 grow their canopies: The 39th  
 Council District which covers  
 Park Slope, Cobble Hill, and  
 Windsor Terrace grew from  
 657.77 acres to 729.9 acres between  
 2010 and 2017. 
 According to another coauthor  
 of  the  study,  many  of  
 those newly planted trees are  
 still  young  and  small  plantings, 
  meaning their impact  
 on  canopy  growth  will  take  
 a number of years to be fully  
 realized.  
 “The  trees  that have been  
 planted in a lot of these areas  
 that  have  seen  this  new  
 growth tend to take a long  
 time for us to see the full benefi  
 ts,” said Mike Treglia, lead  
 scientist at the Nature Conservancy’s  
 cities  program.  
 “Just because these trees were  
 planted in the last 10 to 15  
 years and we are seeing this  
 really  important  and  valuable  
 growth, doesn’t mean we  
 are where we need to be.”  
 Maintenance of existing  
 trees is just as important as  
 the addition of new ones, according  
 to Treglia.  
 “We need to see those trees  
 stewarded,  and  kept  up,  and  
 (Clockwise  from  top  left)  Trees  in  Prospect  Park,  Bedford–Stuyvesant,  
 Fort Greene, and Gowanus.   File photos 
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