We will clean our air while we safeguard our water quality
To increase our tree canopy cover, we must increase coverage beyond our parks and sidewalks. That will require more trees on public and private lots, including parking lots, private housing, institutional properties such as schools and university campuses, and City-owned land.

We will capture the benefits of our water quality strategy
According to the Department of City Planning, parking lots comprise almost 2,000 acres or approximately 1% of the city's land area. The dark asphalt pavement contributes to the heating of the urban area on hot, sunny days, which accelerates the formation of ground-level ozone. In addition, the hard, smooth surfaces contribute to rain runoff that inundates sewer systems during storms. Currently, 10% of the land area of parking facilities in New York City is covered by tree canopy.

The proposed zoning regulations will require perimeter landscaping of commercial and community facility parking lots over 6,000 square feet as well as street tree planting on the adjacent sidewalks. Parking lots over 12,000 square feet would also be required to provide a specified number of canopy trees in planting islands within each lot. This change will not only support cleaner air, it will also mitigate the visual impact of large asphalt lots while more effectively managing storm water runoff and the urban heat island effect.

We will partner with stakeholders to help plant one million trees by 2017
The City will work with community, non-profit, and corporate partners on a 10-year goal to plant trees on private residential, institutional, and vacant land properties in order to achieve our goal to plant one million trees. The City and its partners will focus on areas whose natural environments have borne the brunt of past City policies, and neighborhoods with few green spaces.

Progress (as of 4/22/08):
On October 9, the City launched the MillionTreesNYC Initiative in partnership with the New York Restoration Project and planted "Tree One," one year ahead of the target start date stated in PlaNYC. Since the launch, the City has planted over 54,484. An Advisory Committee consisting of over 65 organizations has convened on two occasions since the launch to coordinate the development and implementation of a strategic plan for the campaign. April 2008 marks the launch of MillionTreesNYC Month, where the Administration seeks to further engage every New Yorker in the campaign to help plant as well as provide stewardship for our expanding urban forest. Public outreach and education, stewardship workshops as well as volunteer plantings are planned throughout the month to promote the initiative as well as the benefits of a million new trees for all New Yorkers. A website has also been launched (www.milliontreesNYC.org) which provides vital information for educators, volunteers, potential tree stewards and individual New Yorkers to help promote and sustain the MillionTreesNYC Campaign.