Approximately $300,000 in Urban  and Community Forestry Grants for 32 tree planting projects in local urban  neighborhoods and parks were announced Thursday. The grants are designed to promote energy savings, habitat creation, increased  property  values,  and  improved  quality of life for New York’s urban residents.

The grants to cities, villages, towns  and  not-for-profit organizations across the state are for community tree  planting  projects  that  will result in the planting of an estimated 3,000  new  trees. The grants  are made possible through the Urban and Community  Forestry  program,  which  is  funded  by New York State and the United  States  Forest  Service and administered by the State Department of Environmental  Conservation.

Projects are meant to have a lasting impact on neighborhoods,  especially  where there is a need for increased tree cover. The  grants  provide  funding  for  trees, soil amendments, and labor.  The community  will  match  the  funds  with  in-kind  services, donations, and project related purchases such as additional trees.

The 2006 Urban and Community Forestry Grant recipients are:

Albany County
·     City of Albany - $7,000 – Sixteen maple trees will be planted with
the construction of Arbor Hill Gateway Park.

Chemung County
·     City of Elmira - $7,500 – Volunteers will plant 125 bare root trees
in City parks and along streets.
·     City of Norwich - $2,500 – A tree planting project using volunteers
and community groups to plant 32 trees along City streets.
·     Village of Oxford - $7,500 – A project to plant 52 new trees in the
Village.

Dutchess County
·     Town of Hyde Park - $7,500 – The town will enhance the gateway
entrances to three Hyde Park neighborhoods by making infrastructure improvements and adding 32 trees.

Erie County
·     City of Buffalo - $20,000 – This tree planting grant will be used to
plant 115 shade trees representing a small but valuable step toward replacing what was lost due to the snowstorm.
·     Town of Amherst - $6,000 – The Amherst Greening Initiative in
Eggertsville Community Park will plant 40 new trees.
·     Town of Lancaster - $7,500 – The Town will plant 301 trees along
streets throughout the community.
·     Town of Tonawanda - $7,500 – The Town will plant 242 trees along
streets throughout the community.
·     Keep Western New York Beautiful - $19,968 – The project will utilize
volunteer clubs, alliances, schools and other organizations to plant 113 trees in Buffalo’s west side neighborhoods.
·     Forever Elmwood Association - $5,000 – Thirty-five trees are will be
planted on Elmwood Avenue and surrounding streets.

Jefferson County
·     Lyme Community Foundation - $4,300 – This project will expand the
tree canopy, and revitalize and improve the visual character of historic Main Street by planting 47 trees.

Kings County
·     City Parks Foundation - $20,000 – The New York Tree Trust will plant
28 trees along streets, and around schools and churches near Nehemiah Housing Units in Brooklyn.
·     Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project - $20,000 – This project will
plant 12 trees along the neighborhood’s commercial corridor utilizing structural soils under pavements to enhance tree survival.
·     Red Hook Initiative - $10,800 – The project spurred by Red Hook
Initiative’s Community Change Workers will add 15 trees to the neighborhood.

Monroe County
·     Town of Greece - $7,500 – The Department of Public Works will plant
150-175 trees.
·     Village of Brockport - $7,400 – The Village of Brockport will plant
48 trees on public rights of way along Village streets.

Nassau County
·     Inc.Village of Bellerose – $7,500 - This program will plant 37 trees
to enhance tree cover along streets and in parks.
·     The Garden City Bird Sanctuary, Inc. - $7,500 – Ninety trees will be
planted for habitat enhancement at the 9-acre storm water basin in Garden City.
·     Inc. Village of Malverne - $7,500 – The Village is undertaking road
repaving and 60 new street trees will be planted with the project.

New York County
·     NYC Street Tree Consortium/Trees New York - $20,000 – Trees NY will
plant 62 trees and conduct an environmental stewardship program in East NY where 33% of families live below poverty level.

·     New York Restoration Project - $20,000 – NYRP will plant 40 trees in
empty tree pits and educate residents about the public value of urban forests.

Onondaga County
·     City of Syracuse - $7,500 – The City will plant 100 trees consistent
with its management plan.

Orange County
·     Town of Newburgh - $7,500 – The Town will plant 144 park trees to
provide slope stabilization and wildlife habitat.
·     Village of Warwick - $7,500 – The Village will plant 35 trees along
streets in low-income neighborhoods.

Oswego County
·     City of Fulton Community - $7,500 – Fifty-seven new street trees will
be planted in neighborhoods currently devoid of trees.

Otsego County
·     City of Oneonta - $7,500 – The project will plant 180 street trees
throughout the City.

Rensselaer County
·     Capital District Community Gardens - $7,500 – The project will
utilize neighborhood groups to plant 50 trees in the north central neighborhood of Troy.

Schenectady County
·     Re-Tree Schenectady - $7,356 – Project volunteers will plant 125
trees along residential streets and parks in the Upper Union and Central State neighborhoods of Schenectady.

St. Lawrence County
·     Village of Potsdam - $5,500 – The Village will plant 40 trees in
residential neighborhoods, downtown and at Ives Park.

Tioga County
·     Village of Owego - $7,500 – Twelve street trees will be planted to
replace trees that were lost.

Westchester County
·     Town of Cortlandt - $7,500 – The Town will plant 40 trees along
Broadway in conjunction with streetscape improvement.