City Trees

In this feature, NYC Parks Arborists Jessica Einhorn and Brooke Costanza answer questions about their deployment to San Juan, Puerto Rico from October 29-November 13, 2017. They were the first two NYC Parks arborists to be deployed to Puerto Rico following the devastation of Hurricane Maria, which made landfall on September 20, 2017 with sustained winds of 155 mph. In addition to causing widespread human misery, Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the Island's trees. A total of eight teams of New York City employees traveled to Puerto Rico to help out; each group was assembled based on what San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz's staff identified as a priority. Einhorn and Costanza performed for- estry inspections with other NYC Parks staff and the NYC Office of Emergency Management. Were your assessments guiding the work of arborists coming right behind you? Jessica Einhorn and Brooke Costanza: Absolutely they were. When we first arrived, it was apparent that the local government resources were stretched very thin, so we were tasked with creating our own plan of action on the spot. We started surveying the largest parks and created reports with recommendations for necessary tree work. After speaking with local Parks staff, we sent for additional NYC Parks' arborists, climbers and pruners to help carry out this recommended work, as there were not adequate resources and expertise on the Island. At the end of our deploy- ment, the arborists who took over continued inspecting trees throughout the City of San Juan. What areas of the Island did you focus on? JE and BC: We worked exclusively within the jurisdiction of the City of San Juan. We were brought down to the Island as part of a sister city partnership. Mayor Cruz's office instructed us to focus on two of the largest public parks in the city, Parque Luis Muñoz Marín and Parque Central, and also to assist in making recommenda- tions for historical trees located in Old San Juan. When we finished surveying the larger parks, we moved on to smaller parks and public spaces. What other arborists were involved? JE and BC: We used the International Society of Arboriculture as a resource to search for arborists in the Miami area who could provide recommendations on the tropical trees in San Juan. We were grate- ful for the timely response of many. In particular, Miami-based consulting arborist Jeff Shimonski was extremely generous with his time and knowledge. What was a "typical" day like in terms of what you did and what the conditions were? JE and BC: We worked pretty much every day- light hour during our deployment. We would start in the morning by convening with the rest of our team—comprised mainly of employees from the NYC Office of Emergency Management—for a daily briefing and rundown of goals. From there, we would drive to the various parks that needed sur- veying. Driving around San Juan was challenging San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz (center) with "Team 6" of New York City Employees, who were deployed to Puerto Rico to assist with recovery following Hurricane Maria. Team 6 was comprised of Employees from NYC Emergency Management, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and NYC Parks and Recreation. www.urban-forestry.com 27 >>

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