Requiem for a Tree

In the spring of 2006, we had a Japanese Pagoda tree planted at 177 Vanderbilt Avenue (one of my favorites). The restaurant owners at Luz have been great stewards of the tree, which was exceptionally healthy until about a week ago. Now it's dead (shown in the photo here). Without speculating what caused such a sudden death (one person claims "sabotage") we would like to reiterate our commitment to greening the community and we hope that you understand and appreciate the hard work and financial resources that go into planting and maintaining each and every tree.

As you know, we've been working to get more trees planted and to keep them watered during the hot summer. Tree care is very important because these trees help to cool the city, to clean the air, reduce noise, reduce storm water runoff, and provide a pleasant surrounding. In fact, as part of Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030 initiative, NYC has begun a campaign to plant 23,000 trees every year. (To read more about the PLANY 2030 initiatives that deal with air quality, click here.)

Unfortunately, urban trees get a lot of abuse, such as physical damage caused by cars and bikes, soil and root contamination from salt, animal waste, and other pollutants (intentionally applied or by accident).

Please, if you have any concerns or questions about street trees, we urge you to contact us to share your thoughts.