The community of Brooklyn, NY, specifically Bushwick, is affected by the upcoming housing project by Neighborhood Restore in vacant Lot 37, Block 3401.

The community within Bushwick, located in Brooklyn, NY, is affected daily by non-stop construction and removal of green spaces. The upcoming housing project by Neighborhood Restore in vacant Lot 37, Block 3401, is in the process of removing nature that has provided a safe green space for those living in the area. In a growing urban space, it is incredibly important to maintain these green spaces for proper quality of life. 

This lot has been vacant for 23 years with no active permits for tree work, according to public land tax records. Although this lot has been owned by the Neighborhood Restore project, it has been an empty space filled with older trees and plants with no maintenance on their end to keep it clean. 

There is an ~40 year old, male "mulberry" tree situated on the back portion of the lot that branches over 2 other properties. This tree is still considered healthy and was thriving until a team of arborists began to cut down a large portion of it on August 22, 2024. There has been no signage posted from any company breaking ground on this project. There were no grounds for removal other than the arborists identifying it as a white mulberry (morus alba), and deeming it invasive and a risk for the property they are trying to build. Although a large portion of it was cut down, the trunk and half of the branches are still in tact and healthy. This tree can be saved.

This tree may be a hybrid mulberry-oak tree which also homes many protected species in NY, such as Blue Birds, Cardinals, and Grey Squirrels. This tree needs and deserves protection. It creates a green space in our urban area and provides a home for these species to reside in. It is imperative to save this older tree. 

Upon notifying the development company about the removal of the tree, I found that they had no knowledge of this tree in their development plans. They even suggested that it may have been the work of a neighbor who privately hired the arborist company (Arborpolitan) under the guise of their company name. 

This petition calls for the proper identification of this tree, conduction of an environmental impact study necessary to deem this tree worthy of removal, and proof of permittance from NYC to remove this tree. 

This issue is incredibly time sensitive. The arborists said that they will continue with the removal on Monday, September 2, 2024. I have reached out to many resources including 311, The Parks Department, the Brooklyn Detective Squad, bird and tree conservationists, the Mayor’s office, and City Council member Sandy Nurse. All have said that because this is private property it is out of their jurisdiction, but someone must investigate and be held accountable for this injustice. We have the rare opportunity to change their minds about the demolition of this tree and green space. We must stand up against injustice in our community because the city cannot and have said that they will not.

Although the development company has plans to construct a new building, this tree supports local biodiversity, it helps mitigate the urban heat island effect, contributes to air quality by absorbing pollutants, and aids in stormwater runoff. The Mulberry tree is a low-maintenance tree and can be incorporated into a backyard/garden area given proper thought in design. 

This tree is healthy. It is essential to fight for the trees that are being removed from our spaces to promote quality of life in our neighborhood and ensure that our protected species have safe homes. We must give them the chance of survival instead of continuing to take from them.