Hudson Square BID Plants 500th Tree In Lower Manhattan Neighborhood

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — A Lower Manhattan neighborhood is on its way to looking a whole lot greener after a nine-year initiative just led to hundreds of newly planted trees.

The Hudson Square Business Improvement District planted its 500th tree earlier in April, completing its Hudson Square Standard urban forestry program.

The program launched in 2013 to plant and retrofit trees throughout the neighborhood between Clarkson Street on the north, Canal Street on the south, Sixth Avenue on the east, and West Street on the west.

The area is also known as West SoHo and is just south of Greenwich Village.

The program aimed at improving the street-level experience and making the neighborhood more pedestrian-friendly.

Samara Karasyk, the president and CEO of the Hudson Square BID, said the organization was "thrilled" to plant the 500th tree.

"I'm proud to celebrate the planting of the 500th tree as part of our transformative partnership with the Hudson Square BID, a wonderful example of neighborhood-based care of trees, and an excellent model for environmental stewardship in the city," said Sue Donoghue, NYC Parks Commissioner, in a news release.

West Village Council Member Erik Bottcher also congratulated the Hudson Square BID on its 500th planted tree. He made sure to emphasize that while the trees of course helped with the aesthetic of streets, they also capture rainwater, shade sidewalks, clean the air, and actually slow down traffic.

In total, the portfolio of 500 Hudson Square Standard trees:

• Captures nearly 5.6 million gallons of stormwater each year, the equivalent of eight Olympic-sized swimming pools.
• Produces more than 55,000 pounds of oxygen per year.
• Reduces more than 90,000 pounds of CO2 per year, equivalent to the emissions produced by ~80,000 car trips to New Jersey through the Holland Tunnel.