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Gianaris Calls for More Trees in Sunnyside/Woodside

April 26, 2011 By Christian Murray

State Sen. Michael Gianaris has called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to plant additional trees on 48th Ave., 47th Ave., Queens Blvd and 43rd Ave.

“It’s rare to have such long stretches without trees,” Gianaris said Tuesday, as he looked down 48th Ave. from 47th Street. “The city has done a good job in planting trees throughout the city, but I think there have been some parts of Sunnyside (and Woodside) that have been overlooked.”

In a letter to the mayor’s office, Gianaris wrote that he had “received requests from Sunnyside residents, businesses and community leaders regarding the planting of trees along these avenues.” The letter also read that “the initiative would dovetail nicely with your [Bloomberg’s] PlaNYC program, which includes a plan to plant one million trees in parks and public spaces.”

Gianaris said he expects to get results from the Mayor’s office. “It may not happen overnight, but it will happen.”

4.21.11 Sunnyside Trees by on Scribd

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25 Comments

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Anonymous

How interesting, that Mr. Gianaris is calling for tree planting only AFTER Western Queens has ben awarded millions of dollars in tree planting and greening funds as a result of the efforts of other people.

Please be aware, friends and neighbors, that new tree plantings are already planned through the City and other funders and this politician had absolutely nothing to do with it.

It’s unfortunate that the Sunnyside Post chooses to print the self-serving propaganda of such opportunistic political operatives without question.

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sartke

I actually think trees along Queens Blvd would probably be even more useful than trees on side streets. Admittedly it would crowd sidewalk space – the easy solution would be to remove a car lane.

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raquel

Incidentally, Celtic Parks has some beautiful landscaping. There are some lovely areas on the south side of Queens Boulevard.

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stephanie

Trees are a great idea! No one seems to do anything for this area. Especially the area on the “other” side of Queens Blvd. It is great to see someone actually paying attention to the needs of the community.

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Pat

Thanks for the response and action (call to proper dept)
Nice to know this problem will be looked into.

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Long time resident

More trees would be great. The clash between Sunnyside Gardens, and pretty much everywhere else is pretty noticeable. Heck, I stroll through Sunnyside Gardens just to see trees since we don’t really have any decent parks nearby.

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Maria

I lived on 48th avenue and 44th street for years and the lack of trees on those streets is really remarkable. I fully support an initiative to plant trees safely. Many sidewalks in Sunnyside are uneven and dangerous even without trees, and I highly doubt planting trees would make the sidewalks any worse than they already are.

Another initiative that could be taken to beautify the neighborhood is forcing people to clean up after their dogs. That’s a no-brainer, yet is not done.

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Susan

Thanks, Raquel. Good points.

There are trees that release less pollen–I forget which ones–but there are some varieties that are less of a problem than others. Unfortunately cities tend to overlook that information and plant whatever. I just read of a city in Russia where so many of one type were planted that it looks like it snowed, when it’s all pollen on the ground, totally covering the ground! People must suffer terribly when that happens.

The sidewalks will probably get fixed at some point.
When I lived in Astoria, all of a sudden, everyone on my block had to get their sidewalks re-done. I swear there was some sort of scam involved because even the owners of buildings with sidewalks that did NOT have problems were cited and had only a certain amount of time to get them redone. (That’s my conspiracy theory).

As far as the dogs, however, I’m more concerned with the owners who can’t/won’t pick up after their dogs. It’s worse in this neighborhood compared to others–I mean, in the middle of the sidewalk?

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raquel

I am concerned about the trees being uprooted (as noted above) since the sidewalks are not even to begin with. If you’ve ever tripped on Queens Boulevard, you will know what I am talking about. Also with people who walk their dogs and will go near the trees which will make Queens Boulevard smellier than ever. Also bad for allergy sufferers and this has been a rough season! A good project might be to fix the sidewalks.

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Susan

Raquel, I’m just curious: why not trees on Queens Boulevard? Might make the place look better and help offset some of the pollution from the cars. I’m not asking this to be argumentative, but I don’t understand your concern. Thanks.

Overall, isn’t it up to property owners to request trees? So if the owner of my building isn’t interested, isn’t that pretty much the end of it? But I agree, the more, the merrier.

Now if we could get people to respect them and not leave litter, empty bottles, and graffiti tags ON them…

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Jenn

Please not Kentucky Coffee Trees….that’s what the city planted on my street in Astoria and they are the most depressing trees. They apparently bloom late and shed early. While every other tree around and on this block is springing up green, those guys just stand there looking dead and depressing.

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Sen. Michael Gianaris

Pat,

Thanks for the info. I made a call to see what can be done to fix this location. If you have any other information or complaints don’t hesitate to call my office at 718-728-0960 or email me at [email protected]

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Christine

This is great. It is amazing to have a Senator that actually cares about our neighborhood.

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Pat

Before planting more trees how about sending the right department around the Woodside/Sunnyside areas and take note of the trees that were planted and are now pulling up the sidwalks. Dangerous conditions for little children running or older citizens just walking.
Or anyone just hurrying to work or coming home in the dark.

One area in particular is 54th St North of Skillman Av where the roots are pulling up the sidewalk because 2 trees were not planted properly in the first place. Learn from these planting mistakes first before the new trees become available.

This problem was reported to 311 but never taken care of. Lots of children coming out of PS11 pass through here just as many seniors do and someone is gong to get hurt ..

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