Time for these trees to take a bough.
Dozens of leafy legends across the five boroughs have been added to the city’s tree hall of fame this week — which is the first time the Big Apple’s official roll call of top timber has been updated since 1985.
One of the impressive additions to the Parks Department’s “Great Trees of New York City” list is a 350-year-old Tulip tree in Alley Pond Park that emerges like a giant from the Queen’s greenspace’s dense growth.
The list of feted foliage also includes and English Yew tree in Staten Island’s Hero Park – which is believed to be one of 155 Evergreen trees planted in 1920 in honor of Staten Islanders who died in World War I.
“New York City’s trees represent a critical part of the cultural and historical fabric of our neighborhoods and communities, and it is a joy to release the final product of hundreds of proud and engaged New Yorkers submitting their nominations for the trees they love,” said New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Sue Donoghue.
“When the original list was produced in 1985, New Yorkers could hardly imagine the changes we would see in our city, and through those many years our trees have served as neighborhood touchstones, historical reminders, and unique symbols of our diverse urban forest,” Donoghue added.
The 61 additions join 59 existing entries to the list and were chosen from a pool of over 270 submissions (and millions of Big Apple trees) through a nomination period from April 2023 to March 2024, the agency said.
A committee of expert panelists then selected the finalists based on their botanical, historical and cultural significance.
Other list standouts include the Osage Orange Tree in Harlem – with an iconic wraparound trunk which has been featured in art exhibitions – and a Ginkgo Tree on MacDonough Street in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant, which has stood next to a 150-year-old Black women’s fraternal order.
City officials say the new list additions not only show the deep connection between New Yorkers and their coveted green spaces, but also underscore the importance of preserving special saplings.
“Protecting and preserving New York’s heritage trees are particularly important in urban areas to help address air pollution, heat islands, and other climate change impacts to overburdened communities,” Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Regional Director Rodney Rivera said in a statement.
“The Great Tree Search highlighted the deeply personal relationships New Yorkers have with city green spaces—from grand parks to modest pocket parks—and neighborhood trees,” added Queens College Associate Professor of History Kara Schlichting.
“Nominations highlight historic trees that help link contemporary residents to past communities. They also highlighted the everyday pleasure of the way the sun filters into an apartment window through a tree’s canopy: Nominations read, to me, as a great call to action to further our commitment to take care of New York’s urban canopy.”
The “Greatest Trees” list update comes on the heels of a “record” tree-planting year in Fiscal Year 2024, NYC Parks officials said, with over 18,000 trees planted – making the largest tree planting total in the last eight years.
The department says it hopes to reach a 30% canopy cover across the city and expects to plant a tree in every viable spot in the “most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods” (including Central Brooklyn, Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx) by 2027.
