Harlem Gained More Tree Coverage Than Any NYC Neighborhood: Study

HARLEM, NY — If Central Harlem is looking greener these days than it used to, you aren't imagining things: the neighborhood had the sharpest increase in tree coverage of any part of New York City in recent years, according to a new study.

The first-of-its-kind report by the Nature Conservancy used three-dimensional imaging research done by the city to map the amount of land covered by overhead tree canopy. It found that between 2010 and 2017, New York's tree coverage grew by more than 3,200 acres, or about 1.7 percent.

Broken down by neighborhood, the biggest increase of all happened in Central Harlem's Community District 10, whose tree coverage grew by 4.2 percent from 2010 to 2017 — a net gain of 37 acres.

Other parts of Harlem also got shadier thanks to new leafy canopies. District 11 in East Harlem had a net gain of 3.1 percent, or 46 acres — the seventh-highest jump of any neighborhood. West Harlem's District 9 grew by 2.7 percent, equivalent to 26 acres.

Karen Horry, who chairs Community Board 10's parks committee, said she was unsure who to credit for Central Harlem's greener streets. She pointed to the MillionTreesNYC program — an initiative founded by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and entertainer Bette Midler in 2007 — as one likely contributor, since the project included some plantings in Harlem.

In any case, it's clear that the neighborhood is greener now than it was decades ago, she said.

"I grew up here, and I remember as a kid, a tree was hard to find," Horry told Patch. "My street is tree-lined and it’s beautiful to have trees around."

Trees play a key role in urban equity, helping to lower temperatures, convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and absorb rainwater, researchers told THE CITY, which first reported on the study. Mapping current tree coverage can help the city protect and improve it in the future — especially in low-income neighborhoods where vegetation is harder to find, they said.

Not all neighborhoods were as fortunate as Harlem. Waterfront areas of Southern Brooklyn and Queens, like Coney Island, Canarsie and the Rockaways, lost much of their tree canopies during those eight years due to flooding from Superstorm Sandy.

Another notable area that lost trees in that span: Central Park, which experienced a 2.9 percent drop in its canopy coverage, amounting to a net loss of 25 acres.

A spokesperson for the Central Park Conservancy told Patch that the loss could be attributed to extreme weather — including Sandy, the 2011 Halloween snowstorm and Hurricane Irene.

Invasive species have also played a role, like the Emerald ash borer, which threatens the park's ash trees; and Dutch elm disease, which is caused by a fungus and spread by beetles.

"Central Park’s tree canopy is healthy and well cared for by the Central Park Conservancy’s tree care team," said spokesperson Arica VanBoxtel, adding that New Yorkers could help the park stay healthy by staying on walking paths and not stepping on exposed tree roots.

Read the full "Future Forest NYC" study at the Nature Conservancy website.