Your Neighborhood is About to get Greener
The Hunts Point Express
By: Eliot Force
The South Bronx could soon have double to triple its current amount of trees as part of a city-wide initiative to increase canopy coverage.
A new law requires the city to develop a plan to increase overall tree canopy coverage across the five boroughs to 30%, up from the current 22% average.
In the South Bronx, however, canopy coverage is far lower, with Mott Haven at around 15% and Hunts Point at a striking 8%. That’s only slightly higher than Midtown/Times Square, which has the lowest coverage in the city.
Trees offer a great deal of benefits in an urban environment. They reduce ambient temperature, provide shade, help mitigate flooding and they capture carbon and air pollutants. The ability to reduce air pollution is especially useful in the South Bronx, an area that experiences the highest rates of asthma in the United States because of its proximity to industrial zoning and the major highways running through it.
