It’s hard to remember after a long winter, but New York can get really pretty once it warms up. And not just in Prospect Park and other parks. There are trees and flowers on every block you walk down that add color and life to an otherwise concrete-dominated landscape. If you want to help keep things pretty, you can grab a tree from Gowanus this weekend. Just try not to get any canal water on it once you have it. (more…)

I’ve been watching a lot of The West Wing, so here go a lot of facts all at once: There are 5.2 million trees in New York City. They remove 2,202 tons of pollution a year. New York City’s most common street trees are the London planetree and the Norway maple. At 133.8 feet, the “Alley Pond Giant,” a tulip tree located in Alley Pond Park, Queens is one of New York City’s tallest trees. At 144 inches, the American hornbeam, located in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park is one of New York City’s widest trees.

You’d be a damn fool to deny that trees play an integral role in cleaning the air, reducing energy costs and making the city look way less like the concrete shithole it already is. So fortunately for us, the ecologically disenfranchised citizens of NYC, New York Restoration Project and MillionTreesNYC are hosting a Community Tree Giveaway on May 12. Get there early (trees will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis) and help make NYC become somewhat more natural again.

Giveaway takes place at the Brooklyn Bridge Park at Pier 6, from 10pm -12pm; a second one will be held from 12pm – 2pm, at BuildOn at Grand Street Campus, 850 Grand St.