Heights could be model for tree support in Brooklyn’s flora-loving neighborhoods
Thousands of trees were uprooted across New York City in Tropical Storm Isaias on August 4. The city’s Parks Department received more than 21,000 service requests for street and park trees following the storm; Queens and Brooklyn were hit the hardest.
Several decades-old giants were felled in tree-lined Brooklyn Heights, including a honey locust that stood for roughly 70 years at the entrance to the Promenade, at the foot of Montague Street. Two blocks away, a giant London plane tree smashed through a cast iron fence and a brick wall on Hicks Street near Grace Court. Three large trees fell in backyards along Grace Court, one breaking third-floor windows; several more came down in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the tree canopy covers 21 percent of the city — but only 16 percent of Brooklyn, less than any other borough. Many of Brooklyn’s trees are in brownstone neighborhoods like Cobble Hill, Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights.