"'Tis
the Season to be Careful"
Trees New York has been the guardian
of New York City's almost 500,000 street trees since 1976. Each year during
the holiday season, strands of lights are strung from street tree trunks
and branches. While these lights add to the holiday spirit, they often
cause damage to the trees that can easily be avoided.
Here are some tips to help reduce any possible damage to the trees:
1. Get a permit. A permit from your borough's Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) forestry office is required to install seasonal lights. The permit allows you to decorate the street tree from November 15th to February 1st (Paragraph 4.E, DPR Street Tree Preservation, Protection and Planting Standards.)
2. Use only cool bulbs. Keep the bulbs away from the tree's leaf and flower buds.
3. Have the lights installed by a licensed electrician who will use a freestanding ladder or "cherry picker" bucket truck. Climbing the tree will cause damage to the trunk and branches.
4. Do not use nails, staples or heavy tie wires to secure the lights.
5. Do not wrap the wires tightly around the trunk or branches. Allow for branch movement.
6. Do not install electrical conduits or receptacles in the tree pit. It is against the law to install these devices and they are safety hazards.
7. All lights and wires must be removed by February 1st. If left on the tree, the wires will interfere with the growth of the tree's trunk and branches and will eventually kill the tree by girdling it.
For more information concerning street trees and how you can help them survive in our urban environment, call Trees New York at (212) 227-1887; fax: (212) 732-5325; or through the internet to: treesny@treesny.com.