Trees and Transparency Converge in Flora Findings
As part of its transparency initiative, the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) has completed an “Urban Tree Canopy & Biodiversity Data Audit,” which inventories much of the flora within the 92 acres between West Street and the Hudson River. The agency has also created an interactive online map of Battery Park City’s trees and biodiversity.
This study finds that the community is populated by 1,759 trees. Among 70 species of trees, the most common (comprising nearly a quarter of all trees in the neighborhood, with a count of 409) is the honey locust. Japanese zelkova, Callery pear, littleleaf linden, and willow oak round out the dominant five species in Battery Park City, together comprising almost half of all trees. The rarest were a dozen species represented by a single tree each, including bald cypress, Chinese chestnut, field maple, sycamore maple, tulip poplar, and white fir.
More than 98 percent of the trees in Battery Park City were assessed as being in “good” or “excellent” condition. One quarter were deemed to be in need of pruning, and another fourth were found to requiring healthcare maintenance measures, such as pest and disease treatments and root excavation.
The community’s tally of timber has become a point of contention in recent years, as the BPCA has acknowledged that many dozens of trees will have to be cut down in the next few years as part of the resiliency program that aims to safeguard the neighborhood from climate change, sea-level rise, and extreme-weather events. The Authority has responded to these criticisms with assurances that the number of new trees planted during resiliency construction will be greater than the total that are felled.
But trees are only a fraction of the 902 species of all plantings in the community. This tally surpasses the 846 unique species of plants found elsewhere in New York City. The inventory found a total of 86 species per acre for all vegetated area in Battery Park City (including lawns), which is equivalent to two unique species for every 1,000 square feet.
Local fauna include 412 species of animals, among them 91 kinds of birds and 273 varieties of insects, a category comprised of 50 different types of butterflies and moths, as well as multiple taxons of bees.
The census of Battery Park City trees and plants was undertaken as part of the Authority’s transparency initiative. Goals of this program for 2024 include heightened disclosure related to expenditures from the BPCA’s Joint Purpose Fund. In this context, the agency announced in June that it had earmarked $500 million for the development and preservation of affordable housing throughout the five boroughs of New York City in coming years.