LOCAL NEWS
Throwing more shade
Levine, other beeps tout ‘Million More Trees’ vision
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
On Feb. 14 in City Hall
Park, Manhattan Borough
President Mark
Levine, fl anked by Bronx BP
Vanessa Gibson and Brooklyn
BP Antonio Reynoso announced
a vision to plant a
“Million More Trees” across
the fi ve boroughs over the
next decade.
BP Levine started off announcing
the initiative, “We
are here to stand up for essential
infrastructure.” Emphasizing
that trees are more than
just pretty things— absorbing
CO2, affecting storm runoff,
cooling neighborhoods
in times of extreme heat, he
pointed out that, “Trees are
an equity issue; they are not
evenly distributed throughout
the city.”
Levine acknowledged the
Forest For All NYC Coalition;
fi fty non-profi ts that have
called for the expansion of the
urban canopy—today it stands
at 22%. “With the addition
of one million new trees, the
canopy will achieve 30%.”
Challenges include fi nancial,
bureaucratic, and logistical.
“More than a half-dozen
Environment groups and public space advocates join in supporting “Million More Trees”
with Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.
agencies must partner to work
toward this goal,” he said. He
recognizes that tree maintenance
must be built into
the program.
“We need funding from the
City, State, and probably the
Federal government. We have
learned a lot from the fi rst
One Million Tree Initiative
(Bloomberg’s 2007 million
tree planting goal).”
Emily Maxwell of the Nature
Conservancy, which
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
supports both this initiative
and the goal to achieve 30%
canopy by 2035, spoke of how
from 2010 to 2017 the canopy
expanded citywide, but
in coastal communities trees
were lost, and in low income
and communities of color
still tend to have less trees.
Also, the city lost a number of
trees during an early snow/ice
storm a few years back. Witnessing
the loss of tree-canopy
is a call to action.
Planting, protecting and
maintaining trees across the
city, backyards, businesses,
institutions, NYCHA, schools
and also streets, parks, and
forested natural areas, are
truly critical to the success of
this initiative.
Shekar Krishnan, Chair
of Parks Committee of City
Council, said, “Parks and
trees are not just about
space but are a racial justice,
public health, and climate
justice issue.”
He mentioned how a neighborhood
in East Harlem can
be 30 degrees hotter than a
neighborhood on Central Park
West or the South Bronx can
be blazing hot. “Trees are
distributed so unequally. The
need for trees is felt particularly
in communities of color.
Mental health (is at issue). The
tree-scape makes us feel calmer.”
It’s a public health issue.
Also pushing forth this initiative
is Tania Gayle from
Green City Force whose goal
is to train young leaders, hoping
to develop in them a passion
for sustainability and give
them skills for jobs or college,
and Lynn Kelly of New Yorkers
for Parks, which drives actions
and policiesthat protect
and enhance the city’s vast
network of parks.
Adams makes plan to stop UWS illegal hotel operators
BY ESTHER WICKHAM
Mayor Eric Adams announced
earlier on
Monday a settlement
that discontinues the operation
of illegal hotels and allows
low-income families
affordable homes on the
Upper West Side.
The $1.1 million settlement
between the Offi ce of Special
Enforcement (OSE) and Hank
Freid, the illegal hotel operator,
fi nally ended the decade-long
legal battle to protect tenants
at buildings Fried used to operate
illegal hotels. The lawsuit
ended in a total of $2 million
penalties.
“Today, we are not only
shutting down an illegal hotel
operator but also creating 80
new affordable homes for New
Yorkers struggling to get by,”
Adams said. “My administration
is pursuing bold, innovative
strategies like this one to
create housing New Yorkers
can actually afford. We need
a response with the urgency to
match the crisis, and we will
explore every opportunity, in
every corner of the city, to create
the affordable housing New
Yorkers need and deserve.”
The Fortune Society has obtained
the building and will be
working with the Department
of Housing Preservation and
Development (HPD) and the
Department of Social Services
(DSS) in an effort to create 82
affordable apartments.
“As the new building owner
and a nonprofi t with decades
of experience serving people
impacted by the justice system
and developing award-winning
housing, the Fortune Society is
deeply gratifi ed and proud to be
part of an effort that will lead
to the creation of desperately
needed safe, affordable permanent
housing in a neighborhood
of opportunity,” JoAnne Page,
President and CEO of Fortune
Society said.
As the administration makes
strides towards necessary action
to progress the community
in New York City, many have
commended the Mayor and
various departments involved
in this process.
“This settlement should send
a strong message to those developers
and companies that
fl agrantly violate the law on
short-term rentals,” Leslie
Thrope, Executive Director,
and Housing Conservation Coordinator
said. “You will pay
for your bad acts! It is also encouraging
that the building will
be purchased and converted to
house low-income and formerly
homeless tenants, as well retain
the current tenants in rent-stabilized
permanently affordable
apartments.”
“The settlement struck by
Mayor Adams’ Offi ce of Special
Enforcement will help the
city meet the critical need for
affordable housing and serve as
a powerful deterrent to building
owners seeking to profi teer
off residential apartments by
illegally renting them out as
hotel rooms,” state Assemblymember
Dick Gottfried said.
FILE PHOTO
Mayor Eric Adams
6 February 17, 2022 Schneps Media