4/9 Million trees NYC
Amy and I finally met up with Renee Schoonbeek, a representative of the city community board. She told us about what exactly she, and the other three people in the office do. Renee first told us that there are 10 neighborhood areas in manhattan that community boards take care of. Her zone consists of the top area of Hell’s Kitchen to somewhere around 23rd street and over several avenues. i saw how big of an area they took up and asked her if its hard to look after that many people and areas. she gad said that it wasn’t because they make sure to keep their contact with the community organised but not office like and buissnessy; people dont even need to schedule a meeting, they just have to show up. Renee went on to explaining how the company gets their communities opinions known to the NYC’s government before they make any new developments (ie: bars, restaurants, buildings). She said that the vote of the community is a democracy, if more are for something than against it, then her company would tell the city officials that the public suggests they should do whatever and then the city officials tell teh developers. So really, Renee’s company has no say in what happens, it’s just a suggestion. I didn’t really understand the point of the company if it’s a suggestion but she said that if their community area disagrees, then the develoers cannot proceed to build. Her company also gets suggestions and complaints from the members of their zone too. Her idea for Amy and I is to partner us up with one of the developers her company works with, One Million Trees NYC by Michael Bloomberg. It’s a lot easier to do an expose on this topic than the doors of hope one so this is what I’m deciding to do. Renee gave us three choices, the first one was to go out with some of the board members (they are volunteers that are a part of their zoned community) and to draw out areas on a map where we think trees could be planted; of corse there are things to consider when planning to plant a tree. I liked this option the most because it involves interacting with people who volunteer to do this every week and doesn’t involve public speaking or sitting in a meeting. The second option was to speak with local schools about tree planting, if they get a tree in front of the school, there should be some kids to learn how to take care of it until it turns into a full grown tree. The last option is to listen to a City Parks meeting about tree maintenance. Amy and I decided to do all three once. Renee was very nice and welcoming. This seems like it will be a great project to work farther on.
–BRIANNA