THE CITY WEEKLY DESK | July 27, 2003, Sunday

NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: UPPER WEST SIDE; Where Leaves Once Floated, Patches of Empty Sky

By DENNY LEE (NYT)

      First, broken windows were the icons of a declining neighborhood. Now, it's missing trees. Empty tree pits seem to be multiplying on the Upper West Side, and wherever the street has gone bald, residents see ominous signs.
    ''It looks destitute, like it's missing a tooth or two,'' said Donald Press, an architect and a member of the West 81st Street Block Association, referring to his neighborhood. Of the 60 tree pits between Columbus Avenue and Broadway - a fairly typical Upper West Side stretch with brownstones and apartment buildings - residents there have counted six dead rees, some of which have been chopped down, and another six that look emaciated.
      For Mr. Press, the problem is no different from graffiti and other early markers of urban blight.
     "It becomes a symbol for the kind of urban decay that we want to put a stop to." he said. Homelessness has been a lot more prevelant. There has been a decline in the quality of life.
     A survey released Tuesday by Councilwoman Gale A Brewer found more than 100 such pits dotting the Upper West Side landscape, empty or filled with dying trees.. "Most of the trees were young, and weren't cared for," said Jennifer Hoos, an intern for the councilwoman's office who helped conduct a
block-by-block census of dead trees. We saw a lot of trees   		 

killed by scaffolding. And many of the empty pits were near schools, public libraries and other areas that aren't well maintained.
     With the Asian longhorned beetle and other pests attacking trees - not to mention a severe winter - it is difficult to determine whether nature or budget cuts are to blame. But Barbara Eber-Schmid, executive director of Trees New York, a non-profit custodian of the city's trees, said the "state of trees is a little worse because of less funding.
      For the past several years, no money has been allocated for street replanting, said Fiona S. Watt, chief of forestry with the city's Parks Department. But earlier this month, as part of the new city budget, Councilwoman Eva S. Moskowitz set aside $500,000 for new trees in Manhattan.
     "We'll plant about 600 trees wit that money," Ms. Watt said. That will probably include all the missing trees on the Upper West Side, she added.
     Greenery advocates say that it is only half the battle. "There's no money for maintenance," said Ms. Brewer, standing next to a dead honey locust on West 65th Street last week. "The most important aspect of planting a tree is maintaining it."

DENNY LEE