Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
New York City's Tree Population Is Booming
By
Emma Whitford
Published Nov 4, 2016
Modified Nov 4, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Google Maps
By
Emma Whitford
Published Nov 4, 2016
Modified Nov 4, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The most tree-lined block in Brooklyn is in Flatbush: Argyle Road between Dorchester Road and Ditmas Avenue. In Manhattan, the shadiest block is West 69th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West. And the largest tree surveyed city-wide is in Queens: an 87-inch-wide pin oak on Douglaston Parkway and Barrows Court in Littleneck.
These tree superlatives are pulled from the Parks Department's third decadal Treescount! census, the results of which were released this week. More than 2,200 volunteers helped count trees over the last year, covering 131,488 city blocks. According to the city, there are 666,134 street trees in NYC (parks are excluded), up from 592,131 recorded a decade ago—an increase of about 12.5 percent. (In 1996, the first survey, 499,130 trees were counted.)
Behold, NYC's biggest tree (Google Maps).
Parks officials said that the tree boom is attributable to the MillionTreesNYC initiative, which was instated under Bloomberg and planted 164,000 street trees between 2007 and 2015. Since 2008, developers have been required to plant one tree for every 25-feet of street abutting a property. Civilians can also make a street tree request through 311, and have been doing so in increasing numbers. "I think people see them planted and say ‘I want them too,’” Jennifer Greenfield, the parks department’s assistant forestry commissioner, told AM New York.
About 22,000 trees were planted in Fiscal Year 2016 alone, according to the city.
The new tree stats also reveal city blocks, and entire neighborhoods, that could use more green—like Astoria in Queens and Mill Basin in Brooklyn. According to the city, 72% of possible planting locations on city streets are currently tree-occupied. That leaves room for about 260,000 more trees across the five boroughs.
You can explore the city's tree map here, which can be filtered by type—American Elm, Bald Cyprus— and tree diameter. Click on a specific tree, and the map provides a Google street-view image.
Queens has the most trees, 242,407, followed by 173,070 in Brooklyn and 103,313 in Staten Island. The Bronx saw the biggest tree increase in the last decade: up 39% to 83,115.
Tagged
Million Tree Count
nyc parks
Tree Count
Emma Whitford
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Published Oct 8, 2026
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
By
Alec Hamilton
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .