L-R-Yonkers Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation Staff; Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano; William Serratore, Yonkers Sustainability Director; Steve Sansone, Yonkers Commissioner of Parks, Recreation & Conservation plant tree on Riverdale Avenue, funded by USDA Forestry Service. Photo by Maurice Mercado.
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano today announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forestry Service awarded the City of Yonkers a $1 million grant to support the goals of the City’s Climate Action Plan (YCAP), which includes reducing heat island effects. Funding will provide for the purchase and planting of over 1,000 trees over the next four years in neighborhoods across the City.
“With the support of our federal partners, Yonkers is on its way to combat the effects of climate change,” said Mayor Spano. “Planting trees in our most densely populated neighborhoods will provide much needed shade canopies and keep our streets and building surfaces cooler. With the assistance of our Parks and Sustainability departments, Yonkers continues to be leaders in implementing equitable strategies to benefit future generations.”
Funded by the USDA grant, Yonkers Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation this fall planted 125 Japanese Lilac, Kentucky Coffee and Redbud trees across the City. Yonkers will plant 250 trees each year for remainder of life of the grant.
Through the grant, the City of Yonkers also will encourage proactive and systematic maintenance and monitoring of its urban trees and forested natural areas to improve forest health; assess risk to forests from pests, disease, and adverse climate impacts; and formulate adaptive management strategies to improve forest resilience.
Heat island effects occur when cities are warmer than surrounding areas due to the absorption and retention of heat by buildings, pavement, and other surfaces, causing higher temperatures, greater pollution and more negative health impacts.
View the Yonkers Climate Action Plan.
