NYC PARKS

Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources Annual Report 2020

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Dear Friends,

It was long dark by the time I arrived with my husband and dog in southwestern Queens. It was early August. We were joining dozens of other staff who had been out on the streets since early morning inspecting tree damage from Tropical Storm Isaias. Although the day was over, the urgency of the crisis called on all of us to continue into the night. Over the course of just a few hours, the storm—with gusts up to 65 mph—toppled over 3,000 trees and killed one New Yorker. Hundreds of streets were still impassable, and many homes needed to be freed from downed trees. The damage was the worst we had seen since Superstorm Sandy eight years prior.

In some ways, the storm was a telling representation of 2020—a year in which we weathered the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, experienced the tensions of a heavily divided political landscape, witnessed the murder of George Floyd and felt the tumult of our nation’s angry response, and saw a record number of devastating wildfires on our western coast.

These global and national challenges impacted all areas of life, including the important work of Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources. As with everyone and everything, the COVID-19 pandemic laid low our expectations for 2020. State mandates set in place to slow the spread of the virus, coupled with budget cuts, prevented us from pruning and planting many thousands of trees. The city shutdown also severed us from our volunteer base, reducing our field work capacity at the height of the spring planting season in our natural areas. And although much was accomplished in its first year, the loss of funding for the Forest Management Framework meant also the loss of over 40 staff who were set to restore and protect our forests across the city.

Yet there is also the old adage that a crisis brings out the best in us. As you will see in the coming pages, despite all challenges, an awful lot got done. After years of frustratingly high bid prices, our tree planting team developed a new contract procurement method that opened the door for more vendors and more trees on our streets. Project managers and ecologists finalized landmark plans that outlined both ecosystem protections and increased public access to our natural areas and waterways. And while the quarantine forced most to stay home, it also inspired citizens to dive in and get their hands dirty by becoming Super Stewards.

I owe much to our staff—who helped advocate for New York City’s greenspaces from their kitchen tables, who traveled to work in the field or office masked and distanced from their peers, who walked the city streets long into the night after a storm to help safeguard New Yorkers and New York’s trees.

As I write, the city is coming back from its retreat and we have much to do. I am looking forward to not just a return to normal, but an embrace of a new era that celebrates and champions our parkland and all its natural wonder.

Introduction

Jennifer Greenfeld Assistant Commissioner Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources

Cover: Staff of the Division of Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources at work in 2020. Left to right: Trees & Sidewalks Forester Michael Emrich, Citywide Nursery Manager Danny Moon, Deputy Director of GIS & Analytics Uma Bhandaram, (from foreground) Idlewild Field Crew Piotr Bartoszewski, Raykwon Pritchett, Wes Markusfeld, Stewardship Field Crew Leader Lea Thali, Permits and Plan Review Forester Jose Portuhondo, Vegetation Monitoring Technician Desiree Yanes, Senior Manager for Wetlands Restoration Rebecca Swadek, Landscape Architect Elizabeth Jordan, NRG Chief Marit Larson, Street Tree Planting Forester Ravneet Kaur.

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Table of Contents

COVID Response and Adaptations 4

Forestry and Horticulture 5

Storm Emergency Response 7

Super Steward City 9

Invasive Species Management 10

Stormwater Management and Ecologically Sensitive Construction 11

Natural Areas Restoration and Management 12

Wildlife and Native Plant Conservation and Monitoring 14

Nursery Practices and Operations 16

Designing and Preparing for Ecosystem Change 17

Technology and Innovation 19

Public Engagement / Communication 21

Staff Development and Enrichment 23

Key Partnerships 24

Natural Areas Conservancy 24

Urban Field Station 25

Select Presentations, Publications, and Media 26

Boards, Working Groups, and Task Force Participation 29

Environmental Scorecard 30

Select Projects and Events 33

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The tumultuous events of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent budget crisis delayed much of our planned work—or caused it to not happen at all. This included not planting nearly 10,000 street, park, and forest trees and shrubs; not repairing 2,100 sidewalks damaged by trees; not pruning 54,500 trees; and missing a year of treatment for the city’s remaining American elms threatened by Dutch Elm Disease. Volunteer engagement dropped from a targeted 8,000 volunteers to 2,000, and COVID-related restrictions delayed 28 contracts slated for green infrastructure installation and natural areas restoration. Despite these setbacks, Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources managed to accomplish a great deal in 2020. We moved quickly to adapt our office and field operations starting in March, designing frameworks that supported staff from home, pivoted field operations, and doubled down on communications.

Transitioning to Remote WorkAdministrative staff mobilized teleconferencing and phone lines to stay connected, and kept staff informed of the rapidly changing COVID-related policies.

Communications staff compensated for the loss of face-to-face contact by delivering a daily photo feature of staff at work—at home and in the field.

Forestry staff created file sharing systems through the intranet that kept us connected to office files.

GIS and Analytics jumped into an IT support role by distributing laptops, leading trainings on new systems, and managing permissions to “double hopping” to the Parks network from personal devices.

Partners: Parks Information Technology and Telecommunications, Parks Innovation and Performance Management

Protecting and Empowering Field Staff As new field protocols were being developed, staff stayed busy at home with an intensive series of online trainings.

COVID Response and Adaptations

Facility managers and team leaders spent much of the early days of the lockdown determining staff needs and finding and distributing personal protective equipment (PPE). This rapid mobilization allowed staff to continue field work and manage contracts unabated.

NRG supervisors developed internal protocols for crews to report to work and access office space and equipment safely.

Crew leaders adopted and enforced new protocols for sanitizing surfaces and equipment to prevent germ-spreading among staff and volunteers.

Partners: Queensborough Community College

Communicating Proactively The constantly shifting landscape and resulting uncertainties required prompt and clear messaging, both internally and externally, and new methods of public engagement.

FHNR leadership issued regular updates to division staff, clarifying agency and city policies, as well as holding town hall-style virtual meetings with individual teams to answer questions about ongoing changes.

Division staff created correspondence templates that explained the contract shutdowns and ongoing delays due to NY PAUSE and other funding and capacity constraints.

Communications and NRG staff upped social media output, engaging in several live interviews, and promoting our 300 miles of nature trails.

With large volunteer events no longer possible, Stewardship pivoted its entire program of volunteer engagement by developing virtual training modules and holding smaller events designed to balance safety guidelines with field productivity.

Partners: Parks Communications, Commissioner’s Office

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Forestry and Horticulture

FHNR played a key role in the siting, procurement, and planting of Juneteenth Grove in Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn, on June 19. The grove breaks up the soldierly and straight Robert Moses-era London Planetree alleé with 19 eastern redbuds. Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher and NYC Parks Commissioner Silver are pictured planting one of the trees. / Photo by Malcolm Pinkney.

Advanced new Tree Planting contracts despite challenging economic landscape.After undergoing the extensive procurement process and providing detailed justification, FHNR moved forward multiple Capital contracts. The Tree Planting and Contracts teams took advantage of the new Noncompetitive Small Purchase method targeting M/WBE vendors to register three and transmit 13 more contracts, with the hope of increasing competition and decreasing costs.

Partners: Parks Capital Division, NYC Small Business Services

Expanded canopy in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods through targeted plantings. Tree planting staff navigated budget constraints to plant trees as part of Cool Neighborhoods. Contractors planted over 3,423 trees in Mott Haven in the Bronx, Brownsville in Brooklyn, East Harlem in Manhattan, and St. Albans in Queens.

Reported on all chemical pesticides used by NYC Parks in 2019. For the first time, the annual report compiled by Horticulture detailed the complete list of pesticides —not just glyphosate as in past reports—used by FHNR, Maintenance and Operations, Capital contractors, GreenThumb, Citywide Services and our partners.

Partners: Borough Forestry, Capital Projects, Borough Horticulture, Parks Maintenance and Operations, Citywide Services, GreenThumb, partner agencies and conservancies

Improved management of large-scale interagency planting projects. These large-scale tree plantings, often mandated by tree replacement obligations, involve coordinating with multiple agencies and require a range of city and state permits. Staff created a seasonal tracker including assigned staff, permit numbers, the number of trees slated for planting, and relevant dates to successfully coordinate several significant projects. These included planting 90 trees in Soundview

Park as part of a NYS DOT project in Hunts Point, planting 100 trees in Van Cortlandt Park as part of NYC DEP’s Croton New Above Ground Structure, and planting 186 trees on streets in Canarsie as restitution for NYC DEP’s wetland mitigation at Fresh Creek Park.

Partners: Parks Interagency Coordination, Borough Forestry, NYC Department of Design and Construction, NYC Department of Environmental Protection, NYC Department of Transportation, NYS Department of Transportation

Expanded Trees & Sidewalks repair contracts for the first time in four years. For years, unqualified vendors, a small pool of bidders, and outdated contract language prevented the Trees & Sidewalks program from expanding its repair capacity. An injection of capital funding and a renewed contract outreach strategy resulted in the program awarding nine contracts in 2020. Despite state-mandated shut-downs, crews repaired sidewalks at 850 locations and preserved 1,100 trees. This included meeting the FY20 benchmark of repairing 1,800 of the 5,500 sites committed to by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Partners: Purchasing and Accounting, Capital Contracts and Procurement, Arsenal West contracts team, Parks Legal

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From top: Deputy Director of Tree Planting Nicholas Zito (right) with consultant supervision from Hill International. / Photo by Jennifer Greenfeld. Trees & Sidewalks Forester Michael Emrich stands next to a tricky sidewalk repair site near a 35-inch pin oak in Bellrose, Queens / Photo by Jennifer Greenfeld

Coffey Park was one of many featured as the July Garden of the Month. Thickly planted masses of shrubs and perennials create a garden bed that straddles the lines between a traditional mixed border and a cottage garden, and some aspects of a meadow. / Photo by Crista Carmody

Created contract management handbooks for Trees & Sidewalks supervisors.New handbooks for Resident Engineers and Project Managers provide in-depth, step by step guides for all aspects of contract management and supervision, from the pre-construction meeting to final payment.

Partners: Parks Capital Division

Conducted research on native plant use in urban landscapes. Greenbelt Native Plant Center (GNPC) staff and the Stewardship team monitored and continued seeding and planting trials in tree pits planted last year. The project generated priority plant list recommendations for shady and sunny sites. GNPC expects the project to continue with the aid of neighborhood groups who will increase the number of plantings in 2021.

Enhanced tree preservation staff skills through collaboration and case studies. Initiated a case-study program to discuss tree preservation strategies, successes, and challenges. The meetings reviewed novel techniques to spare trees from construction-related removal, including clearance pruning to make way for a large construction crane (9" honey locust), designing a custom curb cut (19" ginkgo), and transplanting a large tree (9.3" honey locust) through collaboration with the New York Tree Trust.

Developed management guidelines for the Pollinator Place garden initiative. These will help borough Horticulture staff create and maintain gardens that foster biodiversity. Along with design tips, the guidelines recommend percentages of native plant species. All five boroughs have already planted Pollinator Places.

Partners: Borough Horticulture

Overhauled and refined many forestry maintenance contracts. Through a series of working groups with Borough Forestry, staff made improvements to the Tree Rescue, Individual Tree Pruning, and Emergency Storm Response contracts. One of the outcomes of the working groups included permanently incorporating a standalone crane crew. This crew will aid other tree crews in maneuvering downed trees away from buildings. FHNR also increased the stringency of the Electrical Hazard Awareness Training requirements, giving the agency the ability to bar unqualified crews from working and charge liquidated damages for lost productivity.

Partners: Borough Forestry

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Storm Emergency Response

Held Information Management Contingency Planning Workshop to prepare for storm response. What would happen if all technology failed in a storm? FHNR organized and conducted the first workshop to discuss planning for technology failures. Participants from all five Borough Forestry offices proposed a wide range of creative, specific, and institutional knowledge-driven contingency plans.

Partners: Borough Forestry, Parks Maintenance and Operations, Parks Emergency Management

Responded to Tropical Storm Isaias.Hundreds of NYC Parks staff responded to devastating tree damage due to Tropical Storm Isaias. The storm hit NYC in the early afternoon of Aug. 4 with sustained winds of 35-45 mph and gusts up to 55-65 mph. Nearly all FHNR staff contributed to the response—conducting field inspections, storm clean-up, data management, contract management and supervision, reporting, and other roles. The scale of the damage and the scope of the division’s response—all during a global pandemic—make the events in August unprecedented in division history.

• Trained and deployed auxiliary inspectors.

With more service requests received than ever before in a 36-hour timeframe (over 32,000), the demand for inspections surpassed Borough Forestry in-house resources. Division staff developed a mobile application specifically for non-ForMS users to confirm reported conditions of trees down and limbs down within hours of the request. From there, a rapid coordination effort began to identify, train, and deploy over 300 people, including staff from five other city agencies. All 32,000 inspections were substantially completed within 10 days and updated in ForMS with the help of this new tool and a small army of data managers.

Partners: Parks Maintenance and Operations, Citywide Services, Parks Capital Division, Urban Park Rangers, NYC Department of Buildings, NYC Fire Department, NYC Housing Authority, NYC Community Affairs Unit, NYC Housing Preservation & Development

From top: Responders cordon off an area in Marcus Garvey Park to clear downed trees. / Photo by NYC Parks. A 41-inch American elm at MacDonough Street, Brooklyn. / Photo by NYC Parks

• Debuted new storm report and produced daily custom progress summaries.

The scale of the storm required regular status updates to senior staff, City Hall, and other agencies. Central Forestry Storm Command responded by developing clear and comprehensive daily summaries. These included breakdowns of Service Requests yet to be reviewed, daily exports of Inspection progress, and Work Orders completed by Community Board and Council District. This rapid and informative information transfer allowed for faster crew deployment and a more cohesive agency response.

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Mike Chin NAVigator and Trail MaintainerMike Chin, a long time Alley Pond Park area native, makes it a habit to maintain the things he uses. He helped repaint the volleyball courts he played on in Chinatown’s Seward Park, and helped build and maintain the mountain bike trails in Cunningham Park. In the spring of 2019, he decided to volunteer at various Stewardship events on Saturday mornings, and then spend the rest of the day playing grass or beach volleyball. He has been volunteering with the Stewardship Program ever since. In mid-April 2020, Mike was walking the trails of Alley Pond and saw a sign posted on a tree looking for Trail Maintainers. He eventually connected with Matt Symons, Administrator for Parks of Northeast Queens and began regularly maintaining the Yellow Trail of Alley Pond and the South Ravine of Udalls Cove nearby. In summer of 2020, Mike took the Super Steward training and became a bona fide NAVigator and Trail Maintainer. You can find him working in Alley Pond Park, Udalls Cove, Cunningham Park, and Highland Park where he works with NYCH20 on the Ridgewood Reservoir restoration.

Pamela Pettyjohn Shorekeeper Pamela Pettyjohn, President of the Coney Island Beautification Project (CIBP), joined the NYC Parks Super Stewards network in 2012 to help galvanize the community after Super Storm Sandy. Her project quickly grew: CIBP now conducts street tree bed stewardship, horseshoe and water crab monitoring, environmental education with local schools, garden, beach, and tree bed plantings, and natural areas stewardship at multiple parks along the Coney Island Creek. Her group has come to represent a wealth of knowledge and organizing experience in the Coney Island community, regularly holding workshops to engage residents in neighborhood stewardship and advocacy. In addition to her involvement with NYC Parks, Pamela has worked with Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s Urban Gardener Program, DSNY’s Master Composter Program, NYC DOT’s Environmental Stewardship Program, as well as Partnerships for Parks. She is a Northeast Regional Council Member of National Parks Conservation Association. Pamela says the Super Stewards Program stands out because of the resources it provides, and its specialized trainings in natural areas management. For Pamela, the water around Coney Island is integral to the social and ecological spheres of the neighborhood, even while work remains to overcome many people’s fear of the power of water and lack of knowledge about the importance of the estuary. At a City of Water Day event in 2020, even during the height of the pandemic in NYC, Pamela educated volunteers about the intersections between the COVID-19 public health crisis and the growing threats of environmental degradation. “We wanted to make sure the message was out there,” she said. “When you have ordinary people contribute and engage in those kitchen table conversations, things get done.”

Heather Butts Care Captain Heather Butts, Assistant Professor at Long Island University and co-founder of the non-profit group Health, Education, Academic, Life-skills, Training and Help (H.E.A.L.T.H) for Youths, has been an active Care Captain for many years. She helped form H.E.A.L.T.H for Youths to combat community deterioration and juvenile delinquency, striving for better education and health care, and offering life skills for adolescents and young adults. Heather participated in the third street tree census in 2015, has held multiple tree care and mulching events in Manhattan and Staten Island, and volunteered to help restore the natural forests in Jones Woods Park. Despite 2020’s challenges, Heather is proud that H.E.A.L.T.H for Youths has been able to continue working during COVID-19. The youth group grew vegetables in the H.E.A.L.T.H for Youths Skyline Community Garden to donate to the community, and also hosted tree care and park clean-up events in Staten Island. “I am very honored to be a Super Steward. We look forward to continuing our work with Parks as a Super Steward.”

Paul Herther NAVigatorFor many years, Paul Herther volunteered at Wave Hill’s Forest Project, planting trees and conducting forest restoration. When this program ended, Paul volunteered at a planting event in Van Cortlandt park, and afterward connected with the Natural Areas Volunteers program and started training to become a steward of the forest. Paul completed his training as a NAVigator in Pelham Bay and Van Cortlandt Parks in 2010. Paul has since averaged over 300 hours of work per year in the forests of Van Cortlandt Park. His contributions include containing a mile-a-minute outbreak, and keeping the garlic mustard population low, such that native ground plants are doing very well. He retells a day in 2020 when a young hiker wanted to know what Paul was doing as he made his way to the trash cans with bags full of weeds. He told the boy that he was a volunteer, and the boy wanted to know if he was paid. “No, I am a volunteer,” Paul said. The young hiker did not buy it. So Paul told him he was compensated by all the neat stuff he saw, such as wild turkeys, wildflowers, and the like.

SUPER STEWARD CITYSuper Stewards work independently to make an impact on their neighborhoods. NYC Parks staff provide training, access to tools and other resources, and license individuals to work on their own, as well as to recruit and train their friends and neighbors. These four individuals are just a few that went above and beyond for their communities in 2020.

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Invasive Species Management

Managed emerald ash borer (EAB) across NYC natural areas.With funding from a State Urban and Community Forestry grant, NRG staff surveyed 600 ash trees in Willowbrook Park in Staten Island, over half of which contractors will treat in 2021 to prevent EAB infestation. In a true Integrated Pest Management effort, NRG also released over 2,000 parasitic wasp pupae in Willowbrook as a biological control to further slow the spread of EAB. Staff also applied pesticide to 565 ash trees in upland natural areas in the Bronx and Staten Island and completed City Environmental Quality Review of potential impacts of expanding this work to wetland areas.

Partners: Borough Forestry, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Parks Planning, US Department of Agriculture—Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Addressed the arrival of the invasive forest pest Spotted Lanternfly (SLF).In August 2020, state agencies announced a finding of multiple Spotted Lanternfly individuals at Clay Pit Ponds State Park on Staten Island. This invasive planthopper is a threat to a wide range of trees and agricultural crops and has the potential of damaging natural areas and becoming a nuisance in landscapes. Since SLF’s arrival, members of FHNR have participated in a multiagency task force to coordinate the response. A Parks working group is developing a management strategy for the pest and held an agencywide training covering SLF identification, various control methods, and reporting protocols for SLF findings on Parks properties.

Partners: Borough Forestry, US Department of Agriculture, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYS Department of Transportation, NYS Parks, NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Department of Environmental Protection, NYC Housing Authority

Disappointed deer next to young trees with deer guards in Pelham Bay Park, the Bronx. / Photo by Marit Larson

Successfully managed Phragmites on shoreline of four lakes on NYC parkland.NRG submitted and received four Aquatic Pesticide Permits to continue managing Phragmites australis at Indian lake, Oakland Lake, Seton Falls, and Meadow Lake—totaling 4.78 acres. Management entailed cutting Phragmites and spraying new growth with herbicide. In all instances, native vegetation is successfully recolonizing the site following management efforts, and at Meadow Lake, monitoring results reveal 95% control of Phragmites.

Partners: Parks Maintenance and Operations

Stormwater Management and Ecologically Sensitive Construction

One of the two greenstreets in Brighton Beach, at the intersection of 11th Street and Guider Avenue in Brooklyn. / Photo by Isam Al-Tabatabaee

Completed construction of the Putnam Greenway.At 1.4 miles, Van Cortlandt Park’s Putnam Greenway brings the 14-mile South County Greenway from Westchester County into the Bronx, creating a nearly seamless bicycle and pedestrian route for hundreds of New Yorkers commuting to and from the city. This project has been long in the making, and not without hurdles. Work included limiting impacts to the surrounding forest and wetlands by reducing impervious surface and capturing stormwater in an underground trench, and scheduling construction to avoid nesting timeframes in significant bird habitat.

Partners: NYS Department of Transportation, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Completed three Brighton Beach stormwater greenstreets.These dynamic installations transform barren concrete traffic islands into native planting beds and bioswales with a built-in subsurface retention system. Requirements to keep the street open for vehicular traffic meant contractors and equipment had to work in a limited area. Also, during construction, staff discovered conflicts with undocumented underground utilities, requiring modifications to the final product. Designers expect these sites will capture up to 32,700 gallons of stormwater from street drainage in this south Brooklyn neighborhood.

Improved stormwater management at Spring Creek Park.The Design and Construction team installed two rain gardens in Spring Creek Park designed to capture road runoff before entering the waterway. Contractors also constructed a vegetated berm along the adjacent Belt Parkway to mitigate flooding and removed one acre of asphalt at the former asphalt recycling facility adjacent to Spring Creek. This project included invasive treatment and native tree and shrub planting in the park. All this was in coordination with the upcoming USACE wetland restoration at Bett’s creek.

Partners: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, US Army Corps of Engineers

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Completed year one of the Forest Management Framework. Launched in 2019, the Forest Management Framework (FMF) introduced a 25-year plan for sustained investment and comprehensive management of all 7,300-plus acres of forested natural areas on NYC Parks property. FHNR received $4 million for the implementation of the FMF in fiscal year 2020.

Forty-three new staff made implementation for year one possible—including gardeners, a trails crew, volunteer coordinators, nursery staff with the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, monitoring and assessment scientists, and a data analyst. This program helped improve forest health, increase access to nature for New Yorkers, and inspire greater community engagement. The FMF first-year accomplishments, from June 2019 to June 2020, are significant and include:

• Selected worksites using Ecological Assessment data—finding areas with a high presence of native species in the overstory, midstory, and understory.

• Cared for 1,300 acres of forest in 57 parks citywide. Over 500 of these acres were in forests Parks had not previously cared for in the past 10 years.

• Planted 30,015 native trees, shrubs, and herbs— with an additional 2.5 acres seeded with native herbs, grasses, and wildflowers.

• Produced nearly 212,000 native plants, using 79 different native species to augment plant diversity in NYC’s forests.

• Engaged 2,100 volunteers and held 98 events.

• Improved the condition of 60 miles of nature trails.

• Collected monitoring and assessment data for 186 acres.

• Developed an Operational Dashboard and data support to spatially visualize completed work and quantify the restoration efforts in relation to the expected project deliverables

Natural Areas Restoration and Management

Staff from the Citywide Trails Team installed a turnpike (gravel/wood-based platform that raises trail “tread”) on the John Kieran Trail in Van Cortlandt Park. It is the longest turnpike in the NYC trail system. / Photo by Josh Otero

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The budgetary constraints of the pandemic precluded funding a Year Two of FMF. After July 2020, NRG staff worked to document and share program accomplishments and suggested next steps with the focus park conservancy partners. FHNR and NAC presented individual reports for Prospect Park, Forest Park, Van Cortlandt Park, and Pelham Bay Park staff.

Partners: Prospect Park Alliance, Forest Park Trust, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, Natural Areas Conservancy, Borough Operations, Park Administrators

Supported parkland restoration with partners at multiple sites. This inter-agency collaboration resulted in the restoration of 56 acres of forests, freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, and grasslands at Pugsley Creek, Ferry Point, Freshkills Park, Idlewild Park, Four Sparrow Marsh, Bushwick Inlet, Spring Creek, Calvert Vaux, and others.

Partners: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Parks Capital Division, NYC Department of Design and Construction, NYC Department of Environmental Protection, US Army Corps of Engineers

Expanded protection of native forests from deer herbivory.Staff bolstered our defense of newly planted native trees and shrubs with nearly 6,000 tube guards to prevent deer browse. This protection effort covered 83 acres in five parks in the Bronx and Staten Island. In addition, staff installed or shored up 1,375 feet of fencing in Pelham Bay and Freshkills Park to protect individual trees and shrubs, and the native herbaceous layer.

Over 23 events, the Stewardship team engaged 275 volunteers who helped plant 6,700 trees and shrubs to end with a successful fall planting season. / Photo by Christina Perdos

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Wildlife and Native Plant Conservation and Monitoring

Completed analysis of Cool Neighborhoods NYC study. Staff completed a formative study using two years of temperature data collected from nearly 500 air temperature sensors attached to trees and light poles, and four years of tree health data collected using a community science app. The project team found that tree canopy and shrub cover were both strongly correlated with air temperature, suggesting that lawn and gardens may have a role to play in mitigating urban heat island effects in addition to trees.

Partners: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYC Mayor’s Office of Resilience, NYC Housing Authority, US Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Completed two-year mountain mint shade house study to inform canopy management. Results of this study of the New York State endangered perennial forb forb (Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. verticillatum) with populations in Staten Island showed that plants grew larger and produced more flowers in open, sunny environments with little to no shade. Based on the results of over 10 years of field monitoring, coupled with the findings from the shade house study, the division developed

and implemented management practices informed by the plant’s life history and ecology.

Partners: University of Texas–Austin

Restored Wolfe’s Pond native fish populations through stocking and monitoring. NRG ecologists advised on and monitored the stocking of 850 largemouth bass, 1,000 bluegills, 850 black crappies, and 100,000 fathead minnows. Staff also continued monitoring the American eel spring migration into the pond from the open ocean—counting 140 individuals that used the restored fish passage between Lemon Creek and Wolfe’s Pond. Hurricane Irene breached the pond’s berm in 2011, compromising the pond’s ecosystem. The agency restored the pond’s berm, weir, and overflow channel structural integrity in fall 2019. This fish restoration is crucial to restoring that ecosystem.

Partners: Musky Trout Hatchery, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYC Department of Environmental Protection

The Conservation team in a patch of little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) at the Greenbelt Native Plant Center. Michael Butts of GNPC sowed this patch of little bluestem for bulk seed production. The team visited the nursery to help for a day with weeding, maintenance, and plant orders. / Photo by Novem Auyeung

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Detected, eliminated, and assessed the impact of illicit discharge at Great Swamp in Staten Island. In late 2019, NRG and its counterparts in the Compliance division detected an illicit discharge with cloudy water and medical waste near the Greenbelt Recreation Center and Great Swamp area. A resulting assessment revealed the source of the discharge to be a collapsed pipe. After repairs in early 2020, NRG collected benthic macroinvertebrate samples from five sites to determine impacts from the illicit discharges. Biological impacts were apparent in the immediate reaches of the discharge, with Biological Assessment Profile scores indicating water quality was “severely impacted.” Although the extent of impacts on the entire stream system remains unclear, staff prevented a worse outcome.

Partners: Parks Agency Compliance, NYC Department of Environmental Protection, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYC Citywide Administrative Services, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

From top: A primrose-leaved violet (Viola primulifola) in Blue Heron Park, Staten Island. This is one of the New York State endangered plants that is regularly monitored by NRG. / Photo by Desiree Yanes. Musky Trout Hatchery stocking Wolfe’s Pond in Staten Island with native fish species. / Photo by Katie Friedman

Nursery Practices and Operations

From top: A Sand bench propagation of Martin Spurge (Euphorbia x martinii “Ascot Rainbow”). Citywide Nursery distributed 7,960 shrubs and 36,731 perennials to horticulture crews around the city. / Photo by Matthew Morrow. Forester Philip Kundhardt, Senior Forester Kip Stein, and Forester Courtney Rose at Moon Nursery. The staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) behind them came from seed collected and propagated by Greenbelt Native Plant Center staff, and then shifted to Moon to develop. These will be planted at forest restoration sites around the city. / Photo by Matt Donham

Formalized plant “pipeline” between division nurseries to expand the use of native plants in agency horticulture operations. GNPC produced tubes of materials propagated from locally collected native seeds for the Citywide Nursery to grow to the size needed for in-house horticulture park planting. This expanded the species palette to include more natives, improving the success of new Pollinator Place gardens. In fall 2020, 4,300 plants traveled from Staten Island to the Bronx and were later distributed to Borough Horticulture crews around the city.

Partners: Borough Horticulture

Consulted on multiple native plant projects.The GNPC team provided input on plant lists and timing for a 15-acre NYS highway reconstruction project adjacent to Pelham Bay Park. GNPC also advised on the NYU Bees Alive-Lentol Garden, a challenging site that required months of collaboration and testing, which eventually led to a unique but workable species list. The team also produced a mixed list of natives for sunny to shady environments in community gardens for GreenThumb. Finally, nursery staff collaborated with other NRG teams on planting plans in Forest Management Framework-focus parks.

Partners: NYS Department of Transportation, NYC Parks Interagency team, NYC Soil Conservation District, NYU Bees Alive Lentol Garden, GreenThumb

Met high demand for plant material despite pandemic challenges.During the COVID-19 pandemic, both division nurseries received requests from internal and external clients for large amounts of plant material. The Citywide Nursery distributed nearly 45,000 plants and added 40 new clients, doubling the number of community-based groups receiving plants (including Concrete Plant Park, Brooklyn Bridge Walkway, the volunteer-led Oakland Wildflower Meadow project, and community garden groups around the city). GNPC provided nearly 115,000 plants and 400 pounds of pure live seed to over 90 projects and 31 clients. In addition to providing plants for division restoration projects, GNPC

gave plants to non-FHNR projects in City Island, Roosevelt Island, Highbridge, and Riverside Park, among others.

Partners: NYC Department of Environmental Protection, NYC Parks GreenThumb, New York Restoration Project, City Island Oyster Reef, Rainbow Block Association, Narrows Botanical Garden, Roosevelt Island Garden Club, New York University, Prospect Park Alliance, Riverside Park Alliance, Lomma Construction Corp., AR Brothers Construction Corp.

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Designing and Preparing for Ecosystem Change

Senior Project Manager Elizabeth Jordan (left) and Landscape Architect Kjirsten Alexander (right) on site for a design discussion at Harding Park in the Bronx. / Photo by Matt Donham

FHNR’s goal and our challenge is to meld public access with ecological function within NYC’s unique geography. The following completed designs and plans demonstrate successful cross-discipline collaboration, multi-agency permits, and review from a range of stakeholders to further that goal.

• Four Bronx wetlands projects totaling an estimated $10.2 million: Hammond Cove, including sediment application behind a log terrace, a riprap living shoreline structure, reef balls, and a gabion retention system; Soundview Park South, which will restore and provide access to a degraded cove—known as Snakapin to Indigenous peoples; Bronx River Channel, which directs river flow into the main channel; and Indian Lake, which will restore 1,800 feet of shoreline by removing one acre of invasive Phragmites and planting native shrubs and herbaceous species.

Partners: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Bronx Borough Operations

• Riverside, Fort Washington, and Seton Falls Parks: These projects totaling an estimated $1.8 million will restore 16 acres of forest habitat at Riverside and Fort

Washington Parks, and 21 acres at Seton Falls. At all sites, 30-36-month contracts will allow for at least two seasons of invasive removal prior to planting new native plants.

Partners: Natural Areas Conservancy, Riverside Park Conservancy

• Green infrastructure retrofit projects in 12 playgrounds, across three boroughs, totaling $8 million: Parkside, Magenta, Watson Gleason, Oracle, Classon, Colonel David Marcus, East Elmhurst, London Planetree, Horace Harding, Electric, Tudor Park Playground, and Kissena Park projects include rain gardens and subsurface storage systems designed to treat 348,100 square feet of pervious surface, capturing 522,000 gallons of stormwater runoff.

Partners: NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Borough Operations

• Arden Woods Park valued at $300,000: The plan calls for building 2,125 feet of new trail and installing a natural boulder stream crossing at two locations, strengthening the existing trail network.

Partners: Parks Capital Division

Senior Project Manager Elizabeth Jordan (right) with a contractor measuring the width of the Putnam Greenway in the Bronx. / Photo by Matt Donham

• Arverne Nature Preserve in Far Rockaway: This plan to restore coastal dune, scrub, shrub, and forest habitat and create a trail network incorporated almost all community feedback and will maintain the unique ecology of the area. Developers have already begun treating invasive species.

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• The Bronx Zoo Double Dams feasibility assessment considered historical conditions, sediment quantity and quality, impacts to utilities and infrastructure, constructability, maintenance, and cost to determine if dam removal could be an alternative to an engineered fishway. Happily, the assessment found that dam removal, which not only restores fish passage more effectively than a ladder, but also provides more holistic restoration, is feasible.

Partners: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Bronx Zoo and Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx River Alliance

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Technology and Innovation

Upgraded ForMS mobile and desktop with a suite of improvements. Launched the long-developed ForMS Android, the mobile complement to ForMS desktop. The new tablets rely on commercial internet, replacing Toughbooks that depended on the now obsolete NYCWin system. Also, after years of planning by FHNR staff, DOITT implemented significant 311 improvements including new resolution action language, and two new service request types to improve storm intake.

Partners: NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, NYC 3-1-1, Parks Information Technology and Telecommunications

Held forestry data workshop to improve data literacy.Staff learned how to access and export field data from ForMS and perform their own analyses, create reports and charts, and connect to the database for up-to-date information. This workshop yielded immediate and lasting results.

Partners: Borough Forestry

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NYS Senate District 34Land Use and Tree

Senate District 34

Bronx Major Highway

"SD 34 Bronx shaded area

This map series displays data for the portion of NYS Senate District 34within NYC (see inset). The data comes from DCP 2010 census (censusblock); 2010 LiDAR land cover (impervious); 2017 LiDAR and cover (tree canopy); 2010 - 2017 LiDAR land cover (tree canopy change); MapPLUTO20 v1 (land use); TreesCount 2015 Census (street trees); 2018 Park TreeInventory (landscaped park trees).

Canopy Change

Prepared by Forestry, Horticulture and Natural ResourcesFriday, April 17, 2020 0 0.25 0.5

Miles±

FHNR completed a series of maps for State Senator Alessandra Biaggi’s 34th district in the Bronx showing a breakdown of urban tree benefits. / Map created by Sarah Pierro, Kurt Cederholm

Launched Biodiverse Flora Tool to guide native plant selection. Horticulture created this tool to encourage increased use of native plants in horticultural installations. The tool guides horticulture managers and gardeners in selecting the appropriate plant species for each site, filtering plant species by moisture and shade requirements, salt tolerance, storm water tolerance, and more. An ecosystems services column gives detailed information on local biodiversity relationships that result in naturally forming habitat and food resources for both plants and animals.

Created database and web map of street ownership in Staten Island.Permits and Plan Review made progress on the murky issue of private versus city jurisdiction over streets in Staten Island. By reviewing multiple deeds, surveys, and titles provided by the NYC Department of Planning, staff created a digital map of almost 3,000 sites and growing. This tool records whether a street or street segment is city-owned, city-managed (through easement), private, or some combination thereof. The database is now a layer in the Street Tree Survey app, which division foresters use to plan for street tree planting, while the implications of street status extend to other Parks forestry programs as well including tree maintenance and sidewalk repair.

Partners: City Law Department, Parks Legal, Parks Planning Division

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At the height of the Tropical Storm Isaias response, GIS & Analytics developed a web application that allowed for non-Forestry staff from any City agency to confirm tree damage conditions reported through 311.

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Public Engagement/Communication

Developed forestry messaging to raise public awareness. Deliverables included a standardized list of forestry services built within an FAQ guide for forestry field staff, vehicle signage promoting the benefits of tree pruning, and a sign template alerting the public of illegal tree damage and providing methods of reporting.

Partners: Parks Marketing and Special Events, Borough Forestry

Improved public access to NYC’s natural areas. Staff and volunteers formalized and installed blazes on over 10 miles of trails in three parks. The team also improved nearly 40 miles of trails in 24 parks by installing and maintaining erosion control, pruning trail edges, and controlling invasive plant species. And despite pandemic challenges, the Trails team coordinated six volunteer events, ten technical trainings, and two public workshops.

Partners: Natural Areas Conservancy, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, Borough Operations, Northern Manhattan Parks administration, Van Cortlandt Park administration, Pelham Bay Park administration

Held Open Door workshops at Greenbelt Native Plant Center. Staff hosted visitors from other agencies, non-profits, and groups across the region. They toured greenhouses, discussed future collaborations, and participated in working sessions on how to clean wild seed and improve spartina production. Several division teams also traveled to the nursery to contribute to maintenance and weeding.

Field Crew Leader Lea Thali at Conference House Park with sanitized tools for volunteers. / Photo by Christina Perdos

Planted 1/3 acre (the equivalent of 5 tennis courts) of beachgrass for third consecutive year. Over the course of two events, 95 New Yorkers traveled to southern Brooklyn and processed over 10,000 beach grass (Ammophila brevigulata) culms (stems). Staff processed another 70,000 in the same season. This involved separating clumps of grasses to expose individual live culms and removing outer sheaths of dead plant material. In the weeks after the initial COVID-shutdown, FHNR sanitized equipment and implemented socially distanced working areas for volunteers to plant this ammophila in Coney Island over four days.

Engaged volunteers to contribute to Green Neighborhoods program.The Stewardship Program saw steady volunteer engagement in the three Green Neighborhood communities, with several individuals becoming Super Stewards. The Seton Falls Park Coalition, a rapidly growing community group, devoted substantial hours and active members to stewarding the 30-acre preserve. In Bayside, Queens, members of Friends of Alley Pond Park showed up in big numbers to restore the park’s native wildflower meadows and forests. In Staten Island, staff successfully utilized small groups of volunteers and stayed productive in Conference House Park.

Field Crew Leader Leslie McIntyre instructing volunteers on proper planting methods at Bush Terminal Park, Brooklyn. / Photo by Lea Thali

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Staff Development and Enrichment

Trained 344 field staff through Horticulture Program. Held two New Gardener Training sessions, with topics such as Botany, Soils, Site Assessment, Annuals and Perennials, Woody Identification, Pruning, Tools and Maintenance, Math for Gardeners, Turf, Pesticide Basics, Weed Management, Planting Techniques, Garden Design, and Seasonal Maintenance. Held six Winter Horticulture classes; three in-field small group trainings in Weed and Plant Identification; and five Young Street Tree Pruning sessions.

Partners: Parks Horticulture Managers and Gardeners, Citywide Services, NYC Urban Field Station, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance

Provided career guidance and professional development opportunities to departing Forest Management Framework staff. Lack of funding for a second year of the FMF forced 80% of the 43 staff hired for the effort to leave the agency. At the height of a challenging and uncertain job market, FHNR senior staff counseled exiting FMF staff in next steps including help with resumes, cover letter writing, interviewing tips, mentoring sessions, a career panel, and general guidance in applying for future employment.

Created resources for Parks staff to improve ecosystem-friendly gardening. Based on research and extensive field experience, FHNR produced information sheets titled: Habitat Gardening and Leave the Leaves. Staff also created instructional one-pagers on pruning skills, lawn care, non-chemical weed control, line trimming, proper mulching, poison ivy management, and salt application.

From top: Horticulture staff at the Winter Hort Class Soil Management and Weed Mitigation Strategies. / Photo by Crista Carmody. A Permit and Plan Review Forester gives a tutorial to Foresters from the Tree Planting team on how to inspect permitted plantings. / Photo by Leanna Nugent

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Key Partnerships

NATURAL AREAS CONSERVANCYThe Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC) works in partnership with NYC Parks to protect, restore, and manage the city’s 10,000 acres of natural areas. This public-private partnership increases the profile of natural areas as critical park assets, raises additional resources for conservation, and conducts research to support sound land management.

Project Highlights • Held 15 in-person and virtual public events

with a total of roughly 500 people in attendance. The programming covered topics ranging from the citywide trails program, carbon research, climate change response and adaptation, and the Forests in Cities Network, as well as do-it-yourself plant identification, hiking skills, and kid-friendly nature activities.

Partners: Jamaica-Bay Rockaway Parks Conservancy, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Prospect Park Alliance, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, Upper Manhattan Forest Kids, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts

• Trail management: NAC trained over 100 people from 15 external organizations on invasive removal, erosion control, problem identification, and structural building work to improve drainage. In addition, NAC and FHNR created the Trail Maintainers Program in collaboration with the Stewardship Team’s Super Stewards Program. Trainers onboarded 40 new advanced volunteers as part of this program. Overall, the NAC improved more than 46 miles of trail across 22 parks in five boroughs.

• The CUNY Internship Program entered its fifth year: The NAC provided paid summer internships to 12 students and recent graduates, pivoting the eight-week summer field internship program into a virtual experience due to the pandemic. Interns compiled ecological profiles for 31 sites, created a model to direct and prioritize maintenance efforts, and conducted 60 semi-structured interviews of parkgoers to assess changes in the use and perceptions of natural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of the program, interns participated in a

Contractors engaged by the NAC knocked down a derelict structure at 28-16 Edgewater Road in Jamaica Bay Park in the Rockaways. Contractors later added new clean fill and a timber rail fence. The NAC plans to restore the site with native grass and plantings and feature a new trail head for the Bayswater trail. The project was completed with support from Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy. / Photo by Justin Bowers

session on the civil service system and an NYC Parks Commissioners Panel for future career development. The program expanded to run year-round, where fall participants collected vegetation data at a 14-acre restored site at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and created data summaries to inform future maintenance of the site.

• Conservancy Engagement Program: In 2020 the NAC focused Conservancy Engagement on Van Cortlandt Park, conducting trainings and presentations and running data analysis to co-produce recommendations for management of 514 acres. The NAC also produced final reports for 2019 program partners, summarizing plans for restoration and stewardship of 218 total acres in Riverside Park and Bronx Park.

Partners: Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, Riverside Park Conservancy, Bronx River Alliance, New York Botanical Garden, Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo)

• The NAC received over $1,100,000 in grant funding to implement projects in the coming years, with the most significant support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, Three Cairns Group, and the JM Kaplan Fund.

URBAN FIELD STATIONThe NYC Urban Field Station (UFS) is both a physical place to conduct research and a network of relationships among scientists, practitioners, and artists focused on urban social and ecological systems. A core partnership with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, the Natural Areas Conservancy, and NYC Parks sustains this dynamic institution.

Project Highlights • Selected Four Artists for the Artist in Residence

Program. Entering its fourth year, the UFS Artist in Residence program focuses on curating creative relationships between artists, scientists, and practitioners. The UFS embraced the theme of Connectivity and prepared for a virtual residency to evolve with the new reality of the pandemic. The four artists for the 2021 cohort are Cecile Chong, researching the connection between New York City Parks and their surrounding immigrant communities; Nikki Lindt, exploring aboveground and underground sound in NYC; Sharon Heitzenroder, documenting environmental change in Honolulu; and Kilia Llano, exploring migrating birds through murals in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Partners: Parks Art & Antiquities, The Nature of Cities, US Department of Agriculture Forest Service

• Launched an Online Art Exhibition: Who Takes Care of New York? Originally on exhibition at the Queens Museum in 2019, Who Takes Care of New York? adapted to an online format in 2020. This interactive website highlights the stories, geographies, and impacts of diverse civic stewards across New York through art, maps, and storytelling.

Partners: The Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures, The Nature of Cities

• Co-Hosted Discussions on New Approaches to Ecological Design and Planning. The UFS co-led Everyday Ecologies: A Four-Part Conversation. This panel series contested “zombie” ideas—outdated policies or practices embedded in the institutional structure—through new design, planning, and projective research.

Partners: City College of New York, Gowanus Canal Conservancy, US Forest Service

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Select Presentations, Publications, and Media

PRESENTATIONSCommunity Engagement and Stewardship in NYCPartners in Urban and Community Forestry Virtual Conference. November.

Documenting and Protecting the Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants of NYC Parks. New York Botanical Garden–EcoFlora Virtual Conference. November.

Update on Saltmarsh and Upland Maritime Habitat Restoration Efforts. Harbor Herons Virtual Conference. December.

The Future City is a Green City. International Urban Forestry Conference, Hong Kong, China. February.

REPORTSStrategies for Managing NYC’s Streams. Stephan, Emily; Swadek, Rebecca; Larson, Marit. NYC Parks. 2020. This citywide stream assessment collected field data from over one-third of the 60 miles of streams on Parks property and analyzed landscape characteristics of all stream channels across the City. The report determined that despite significant impacts of development, among other factors, 30% of Parks’ streams are in good condition. Recommendations include renewing protection from upstream development and improving buffer and stormwater management. The report also identifies specific priority stream reaches for interventions.

First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh commemorated Arbor Day by planting an American dogwood and a serviceberry in Van Cortlandt Park. / Photo by Marechal Brown

Harlem River Watershed and Natural Resources Management Plan for The Bronx. Friedman, Katie; Powell, Sara; Ong, Jamie; Swadek, Rebecca; Larson, Marit; Greenfeld, Jennifer. NYC Parks. 2020.

In partnership with federal and state agencies, as well as local community organizations and citizens, Parks developed a comprehensive plan and roadmap for restoration activities in the Harlem River Watershed. The goal of the plan is to protect and restore natural resources, manage and expand green infrastructure, promote public access, and engage the community in and around the river. To accomplish these goals, the plan provides 14 broad strategies, 77 watershed-wide management recommendations, and 97 site-specific recommended actions.

Seabeach Amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) at Rockaway Beach. Garcia, Carla; Holmes, Clara; Auyeung, Novem. NYC Parks. 2020.

Monitoring Forest Restoration Activities in NYC Parks King, Kristen L; Auyeung, Novem D.S. Cities and the Environment (CATE). 2020. Vol. 13. Iss. 1. Article 13.

Fear and Fascination: Use and Perceptions of New York City’s Forests, Wetlands, and Landscaped Park Areas. Sonti, Nancy Falxa; Campbell, Lindsay K; Svendsen, Erika S; Johnson, Michelle L; Auyeung, Novem D.S. Urban Ecology & Urban Greening. 2020. Vol. 49.

Measuring Success: Monitoring Natural and Nature-Based Shoreline Features in New York State—Final Report.

Prepared for New York State Department of State. 2020. 115 pp.

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MEDIAForest HealthKnudson, Annalise. “NYC releasing stingless wasps to combat tree-eating beetle.” The Staten Island Advance. June 3, 2020.

Rosen, Julia. “Cancel Earthworms.” The Atlantic. Jan. 23, 2020.

NurseriesNargi, Lela. “Rethinking coastal restoration.” City Monitor. Sept. 30, 2020.

Re, Justine. “The Parks Department Works to Restore NYC’s Dunes With A Cost Effective Plan.” New York 1. March 11, 2020.

Street TreesManiace, Len. “More green for less green: NYC tree planting programs slow due to rising costs.” AMNY. Feb. 2, 2020.

Quinn, Anna. “Dozens of New Trees Planted On Hudson Square Streets.” Patch. Jan. 31, 2020.

Thompson, Clive. “Trees Are Time Machines.” The Atlantic. Oct. 9, 2020.

Contractors plant street trees in Tremont in the Bronx. / Photo by Daniel Avila

Boards, Working Groups, and Task Force Participation

Audubon New York Salt Marsh Workgroup

Bronx River Alliance

Diamondback Terrapin Working Group

Federal Urban Water Partnership

Grassland Birds, NYC Audubon

Hudson River Estuary Program, Restoration Working Group

Long Island Sound Habitat Restoration and Stewardship Work Group

Lower Hudson PRISM & Long Island PRISM

National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

Natural Areas Conservancy, Forest in Cities

New York Botanical Garden

New York Botanical Garden Flora Working Group

NYC Audubon, Harbor Herons Working Group

NYC Interagency Wildlife Hazard Task Force

NYC Pollinator Working Group

NYC Soil and Water Conservation District

Queens Botanical Garden

Science and Resiliency Institute of Jamaica Bay

The Horticulture Society of New York

The Nature Conservancy’s Urban Forest Task Force

Trees New York Advisory Board

Urban Waters Federal Partnership

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Callery pear on St. Marks Place, Manhattan. / Photo by UFS artist in residence Matthew López-Jensen

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Environmental Scorecard

2018350 132 125

7 12 4

471,000 330,678 228,232

90,134 52,051 40,156

21,417 19,762 13,884

4 15 3

50 3 3

32 11 7

4,263 4,229 140

3 24 0

0 4 5

23 22 1

672 1,299 849

22,874 13,613 6,241

4,147 617 2,643

6,407 6,773 8,029

17,248 218,297 55,307

18.2 43.5 22.9

0 1.3 0.58

0 6.3 0.29

9.1 6.9 5.4

318 296 242

1,014 871 1,079

16,140 31,549 18,114

1,115 1,834 1,100

1,077 1,181 559

56 53 34

10 11 8

58 77 5

2019 2020*GROWINGBulk Seed Produced (pounds)

Bulk Seed Produced (species)

Plants Grown at Greenbelt Native Plant Center

Plants Grown at Citywide Nursery

Trees Procured from Contracted Nurseries

DESIGNING1

Landscape Sites2

Green Infrastructure Sites

Natural Areas Restoration Sites

Trees and Sidewalks Repair Sites

CONSTRUCTING3

Landscape Sites

Green Infrastructure Sites4

Natural Areas Restoration Sites

Trees and Sidewalks Repair Sites

PLANTING5

Forest Trees

Park Trees6

Street Trees7

Shrubs and Herbs8

RESTORINGForests (acres)

Grasslands (acres)

Wetlands (acres)

Trails (miles)

CONSERVINGNative Seed Accessions for GNPC Production

Natural Areas (Acres)

Trees Watered Bi-weekly

Trees Preserved Around Sidewalks

Tree Guards Installed around Trees

MONITORING AND RESEARCHMonitoring Projects by Division Personnel

Monitoring Reports Produced

Researchers hosted by the Urban Field Station

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1 Designs completed -- does not include active designs. 2 Includes landscape site designs created using AutoCAD only.3 Construction (contractor only—not in-house) projects completed. Does not include active construction projects.4 No projects constructed during 2018 due to program transition from right-of-way work to on-site parkland projects. 5 Encompasses plantings by FHNR only (including TreeTime); does not include not all plantings within NYC Parks

6 Starting in 2019, includes trees planted by FHNR contractors and trees procured by FHNR for in-house planting by Boroughs (131). 7 Changed reporting in 2020 to include only street trees planted by FHNR contractors; permitted trees are now listed in the “Approving” category. 2018 and 2019 totals were updated to reflect this change. 8 Significant increase from 2018 to 2019 is attributable to the Sunset Cove restoration project.

*The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown, contracting pause, and budget cuts impacted all programs, which is illustrated in decreased numbers across almost all categories.

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96 167 116

102 99 107

5,589 4,789 2,907

8 11 7

84 75 52

2,307 1,095 2,517

516 469 401

211 267 263

$385,058,685 $438,383,841 $432,302,122

6 5 2

$5,391,840 $1,664,944 $22,490

See Note See Note $652,161

1,647 2,104 1,896

76 124 123

8,631 10,078 2,602

400 521 287

435 308 70

5,278 6,562 743

63.3 79.2 131.1

23,031 26,049 6,223

1,622 1,394 1,326

28 49 17

730 1,097 290

52 66 26

12 3 7

2018 2019APPROVINGGreen Infrastructure Plans Reviewed

Other Agency Plans Reviewed (non-GI)9

Private Developer Plans Reviewed

External Monitoring Plans Reviewed

Scientific Research Permits Issued

Trees Planted via Permit10

Tree Planting Permits Issued

ADMINISTERINGNumber of contracts under management

Value of contracts under management

EARNING (DOLLARS OF GRANTS SECURED)11

New Grants Secured

Dollar Value of New Grants

Dollar Value of Corporate Donations12

TRAININGTraining Attendees

Trainings Held by Division

ENGAGINGVolunteers Engaged

Volunteer Events Hosted

Mulch spread by Stewardship Volunteers (cy)

Trees Cared for by Stewardship Volunteers

Acres Cared for by Stewardship Volunteers

Hours of Service by Stewardship Volunteers

COMMUNICATINGPublic Correspondence Prepared

Public Workshops Hosted13

Non-Parks Attendees at Hosted Workshops

External Presentations Given

Publications

2020

9 “Plan Reviewed” is any project or plan where FHNR provided substantial comment or input. “External Plans Reviewed” includes Inter-agency, Intra-agency and other external parties. It does not include DOB plans that are part of the formal Permits and Plan Review Process or Green Infrastructure plans.10 New category of “Trees Planted via Permit” in 2020; previously was reported under “Trees Planted”. Includes trees FHNR permitted to agenices and individuals (zoning and non-zoning) where planting has been confirmed. 11 Includes FHNR and New York Tree Trust/Time (NYTT) grants. Does not include Natural Areas Conservancy .12 New category of Corporate Earning started for CY2020. Includes TreeTime and Stewardship.13 Includes public workshops, community meetings, and lectures.

*The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown, contracting pause, and budget cuts impacted all programs, which is illustrated in decreased numbers across almost all categories.

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Putting FHNR on the MapIn 2020, the Mayor’s Office designated the parts of the city hardest-hit by the pandemic to “include those most impacted by COVID-19, in addition to communities that have a high percentage of other health and socioeconomic disparities.” These maps show where FHNR focused its work in some of these neighborhoods to improve greenspace, ecological integrity, and public health.

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Bronx and Manhattan

InwoodHill Park

HighbridgePark

HarlemRiver Park

IshamPark

FortWashington

Park

FortTryonPark

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Sherman CreekNYC Parks worked with NYRP to conduct elevation monitoring of the Sherman Creek Park shoreline. The monitoring will help determine if NYRPs restoration project, consisting of oyster castles and salt marsh plantings, protects the shoreline from erosion and allows for sediment accumulation.

Harlem River Watershed PlanThis plan serves as a roadmap for agencies, community partners, and other stakeholders to use to pursue coordinated resource protection and restoration goals in the Bronx portion of the Harlem River watershed.

Gully Cleaning Improving drainage and erosion of trails throughout Inwood Hill Park was a major focus of our trail workin Inwood Hill Park, along with restoring desire lines to prepare for the Stewardship team’s planting event in October. In addition, rustic check-steps were installed in restored areas to prevent future erosion by hindering water flow.

Natural Areas Restoration & MaintenanceInwood Hill, Highbridge and Fort Tyron Parks includes 118.51 acres cared for, 125 native trees planted,140 native shrubs planted, and 1,126 native herbs planted.

Bridge Park (South) As part of the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation Soil Bank Program, Bridge Park stored sand removed from a construction site in New Rochelle. The sand will be used for a future FHNR restoration project.

COVID-19 ZoneBronx Community Board 5–Morris HeightsManhattan Community Board 12–Inwood

Brooklyn

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Ocean Parkway Malls

ConeyIsland Creek Park

ConeyIsland Beach& Boardwalk

CalvertVaux Park

ConeyIsland

Boat Basin

Kaiser Park

SteeplechasePark

AsserLevy Park

OC

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SURF AVE

0 1,000 2,000Feet±Beach Grass Planting

New Tree

Super Steward

NYC Parkland

Beach

Horseshoe Crab Monitoring

Storm Water Greenstreets:

One of three storm water greenstreets installed in the neighborhood to absorb runofffrom the nearby roadways.

Beach GrassPlantingsStaff and volunteers planted 15,000 square feet of ammophilaculms in Coney Island near the NYC Aquarium, Beach 37 Street, and Coney Island Creek Park.

COVID-19 ZoneBrooklyn Community Board 13Coney Island, Brighton Beach

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RufusKing Park

BaisleyPond Park

St. AlbansPark

Roy WilkinsRecreation

Center

0 0.25 0.5Miles±

Protected Tree

New Tree

Super Steward

Sidewalk Repair Site NYC Parkland

HVI 5*

*DOHMH designation for the highestof 5 Heat Vulnerability Indices

Roy Wilkins ParkNYC Department of Environmental Protection dredged the pond in this park to remove accumulated sediments, restore the original depth and capacity, and reestablish the small island. FHNR developed a restoration plan, removed invasives, and planted native vegetation around the pond. FHNR also installed a vegetated bioretention basin to intercept 1.25” depth of stormwater runoff from Merrick Boulevard to reduce volume in the combined sewer system.

NRG inventoried 416 trees inRailroad ParkThis inventory was an important first step in determining the forest’secological health and willinform a future Capital project in the park.

Callery Pear TreeApplicant changed thelocation for their curbcutto preserve the 17” tree.

COVID-19 ZoneQueens Community Board 12Jamaica

Queens

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Staten Island

BAYO

NNE

BR

BAY STHYLAN BL

Bay

St

WIL

LOW

BROO

K PY

ARTHUR KILL R

D

CLOVE RD

STATEN ISLAND EP

FOREST AV

VICTORY BL

RICHMO

ND TE

SilverLake Park

Willowbrook Parkway

Snug HarborCulturalCenter

CPL.Thompson

Park

Von BriesenPark

MarinersMarshPark

ArlingtonMarsh Park

CloveLakes Park

GranitevilleSwamp Park

Eibs PondPark

Goodhue ParkAllison Pond Park

JonesWoods Park

0 0.5 1Miles±Protected Tree

New Tree

Super Steward

Sidewalk Repair Site NYC Parkland

North Shore GI Plan

Trees & SidewalksForesters repaired and bumped out this sidewalk to help preservea large silver maple and London Planetree in Port Richard, Staten Island.

Harbor BrookNRG developed conceptual designs for green infrastructure and marsh restoration for an EDC mitigation project at Harbor Brook.

North Shore of Staten Island Habitat Restoration and Green Infrastructure PlanThis plan characterizes the existing conditions of the North Shore area, identifies opportunities for habitat restoration and green infrastructure on parkland, and incorporates community and partner organization feedback to refine and evaluate opportunities and priorities.

COVID-19 ZoneStaten Island Community Board 3Stapleton

Natural Areas Restoration & MaintenanceJones Woods,Goodhue, and Clove Lakes Parks included 42.25 acres cared for, 2,272 native trees planted, and 897 native shrubs planted.

Block Planted in 2018

From top: Tree Planting Foresters Sophia Wohl, Haley Hix, Tyler Gibson, Mike DiCiancia at a Tree Care event in the Lower East Side. / Photo by Nave Strauss. The Design and Construction team volunteering at the Greenbelt Native Plant Center. / Photo by Nate McVay