What is the NYC Urban Forest Plan?

New York City is developing its first Urban Forest Plan which will outline a unified vision for the citywide urban forest and chart actionable strategies to expand the city’s tree canopy.

The urban forest includes the more than seven million trees that span New York City’s streets, yards, parks, campuses, businesses, and natural areas. It’s an important part of our city, meant to be accessible to all.

The Urban Forest Plan is being led by the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) in collaboration with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks), City Parks Foundation, Partnerships for Parks, Natural Areas Conservancy, and The Nature Conservancy.

WHAT

What is New York City's tree canopy?

Tree canopy is the land covered, or shaded by trees. As of the latest data from 2021, tree canopy covers 23.4% of New York City.

From 2017-2021, New York City saw a 1.2% total increase in tree canopy cover. But, this total increase included both gains and losses that were higher in some parts of the city and lower in others. The canopy grew by 2.3% in parkland managed by NYC Parks and by 2.1% along city streets.

The Urban Forest Plan will outline actionable strategies to expand tree canopy equitably to cover 30% of New York City.

WHY

Why do trees matter?

Trees play a critical role in reducing outdoor temperatures. Urban trees can cool city streets up to 2°F, while forested natural areas are on average 6°F cooler than surrounding neighborhoods.

City trees purify the air we breathe, improve human health and well-being, beautify neighborhoods, and can even manage stormwater. They can also keep us safer and more comfortable on hot days, shading and cooling us and providing protection from harmful ultra-violet sun rays.

Trees in New York City provide $260 million in benefits and services every year: including removing 1,100 tons of air pollution, providing energy savings equivalent to the annual use of 8,000 homes, reducing stormwater runoff by 69 million cubic feet.

WHY NOW

Why now?

As New York City works to adapt to and lessen the impacts of climate change, the benefits of the urban forest are more crucial now than ever. A healthy, resilient, and robust urban forest will improve air quality, help absorb stormwater, and reduce other climate threats.

PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done, New York City’s long-term climate plan, included a citywide goal to achieve 30% tree canopy cover. In late 2023, the New York City Council passed Local Law 148, which codified the 30% goal and called for an urban forest plan, to be updated every 10 years based on public input.

These two milestones build directly on the work of the Forest for All NYC coalition and the NYC Urban Forest Agenda, published in 2021.