A Tree Grows on Charles Street

By Eric Uhlfelder

So many things make the West Village among the most livable communities anywhere. For me, the area’s single most endearing characteristic is its trees. They are what makes the neighborhood so comfortable, down to earth, and tranquil. And this is especially so during the summer when the shade they provide keeps this place much cooler than the canyons of downtown, midtown, and any other place where there isn’t a green canopy overhead.

But this wasn’t always the case as George Capsis, the owner of WestView News who recently passed away, had reminded me last year.

George said there were no trees on Charles Street or many other streets in the neighborhood as of the mid-20th century. But this began to change in the 1950s and 1960s when the city started offering residents saplings for $5. They were delivered to the block and then homeowners started filling in the tree beds that had been newly carved out of sidewalks.

“Our neighborhood felt a mutual bond by the sudden greening,” recalled George. “And what made this so successful was that by residents taking care of their own trees, they became a source of individual and communal pride.” In this way, George believed it was a good lesson about a unique way civic improvement can be achieved, when the interests of neighbors and the city are tied together.

Fast-forward decades later and the result is a remarkably green neighborhood that enhances its attractiveness, makes people feel more at ease, and increases property values. It’s an observation that encouraged me to bring down a sapling from my parents’ home in Westchester. After their passing and our property was sold in 2020 to a foolish developer who proceeded to cut down 100-foot-tall oaks and maples, I clandestinely rescued a two-foot sugar maple.

I moved it into my backyard on Jane Street where it adjusted to the shock of being transplanted. A year and a half later, in the spring of 2022 on Earth Day, I got permission from the Parks Department to move it into the Arthur Strickler Triangle in front of the Bus Stop Cafe.

By the fall, sparrows were perching on its branches—a small milestone. Protected by a three-foot green wire mesh fence that once surrounded my vegetable garden, I thought everything was set for many years of growth that would outlive me.

But like most endeavors in this city, forces started conspiring against the sapling.

During the following summer, an errant citizen pruner (trained by the city) inexplicably cut off two-thirds of the branches. Never prune a sapling, and pruning should never be done in summer when trees are actively growing.

The Parks Department explained that they have had problems with locals who are informally trained to help take care of local pruning needs that its budget can’t reach. In theory, that seems like a clever idea but in practice it has caused more problems than it has fixed. Nonetheless, the program continues.

Then in the spring of last year, a drunk driver plowed into Strickler, running over 10 yards of the landscaped garden and destroying my tree.

This was no freak occurrence. This has happened repeatedly due to Hudson Street’s unexpected bend southeasterly into Bleecker. The city refuses to correct this hazard with better lighting and signage.

Miraculously, the healthy roots sprouted new growth. A year later, the revived sapling is now over three feet tall.

Everyone can have a hand in the greening of our neighborhood. Don’t wait for the city to do it. Despite good intentions, especially by Councilman Erik Bottcher, logic doesn’t always prevail.

A few summers ago, his office surveyed every tree in the neighborhood. But it failed to assess the most critical feature: whether the earth has been filled in with stone blocks which will assuredly stunt and kill trees because it prevents rain from seeping to the roots.

A recent citizen budget vote on capital projects included the planting of hundreds of new trees. The cost per tree ran an astonishing $1,800. The cost of the saplings themselves: less than 5 percent of the bill. When I asked the councilman’s office why it cost so much to plant trees, no one could provide an intelligent answer.

This small anecdote, that gets repeated a thousand times over every time the city makes a capital investment, is a huge tell about why our municipal finances are in a perpetual mess and why our taxes are so high.

The point: More intelligent efforts to preserve mature trees is an infinitely cheaper way to keep our neighborhood green than funding their constant replacement.

Further, when I suggested to a Parks’ employee that the Belgium blocks that fill in so many tree beds could be repurposed in reconstructing our cobblestone streets, she said, “but where we would store the blocks in the interim?”

Tree beds often get filled in to prevent rats from burrowing into them. But that can be easily remedied by laying a wire mesh and covering it with dirt. Contrary to what the city would lead you to believe, certain fixes are easy and inexpensive.

So if you see an empty tree bed, do what George and I have done. Contact the city. Get permission to plant a tree. You will receive an official ID number. Saplings are inexpensive, and if you have a back yard, you will likely find one for the taking. Learn what you need to do to help ensure the sapling takes: transplant in the spring, water frequently, and install an inexpensive wire fence to keep the dogs away.

The city fails to protect our trees from dogs. Washington Square hosts some of the city’s healthiest and oldest trees. But the saplings along the park’s perimeter is another matter. Nearly half of them die a few years after being planted because they are not protected from our canine friends. We can all do better on that front.