On Saturday March 26, 2022, Sunnyside saw the first of a new crop of street trees, thanks to the efforts of the previous board of SNA and the Bureau of Urban Forestry (BUF), the City’s tree agency. The event was the culmination of over a year of effort on the part of Ken Hollenbeck, past president of SNA, and Amy O’Hair, past secretary, in cooperation with Ramses Alvarez of the Department of Public Works, who coordinated the planning with BUF. 

Thanks for their efforts, thirty-one new trees will shade our sidewalks and improve our environment for decades to come. The first ten were plant on Saturday, after a kick-off ceremony overseen by Mr. Alvarez, along with D7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar. 

The remaining trees will be planted in coming weeks. If you live near one of the newly planted trees, please help your neighbors keep them watered weekly for the first three years of their growth.  

After opening words from Ramses Alvarez (center), Supervisor Melgar spoke (left), noting the encouraging progress that Sunnyside has made with greening, such as the Detroit Steps Project. Credit: Bill Wilson Photography.

Supervisor Melgar officially recognized the contribution of past president Ken Hollenbeck (center right) to the tree-planting project with a certificate. Credit: Bill Wilson Photography.

Before the planting began, the entire team lined up for a photo. Volunteers from Sunnyside and beyond included Ian Murray (far left, rear), Allison Duignan (far right), Patrick Linehan (far left, front), as well as Ken Hollenbeck. The team members in safety vests are from the Dept of Public Works. Credit: Bill Wilson Photography.

Supervisor Melgar with Ken Hollenbeck (R) and Amy O’Hair (L) past secretary of SNA, who facilitated communications for the project. Credit: Bill Wilson Photography.

Volunteers helped out the DPW team with the tree planting and staking. Credit: Bill Wilson Photography.

Ramses Alvarez and Ken Hollenbeck with a newly planted Gingko. Credit: Bill Wilson Photography.

The rest of the trees will be planted over the next few weeks by BUF employees. Here is a map of the locations for all thirty-one trees.

To provide some background, Ramses Alvarez wrote of the project: “In March 2021 Ken Hollenbeck, the then President of Sunnyside Neighborhood Association (SNA), reached out to me about the possibility of planting 25 trees in some empty basins his group had identified. After inquiring with our Bureau of Urban Forestry, I learned the major hurdle in filing the empty cutouts with trees was coming up with a viable watering plan to allow the trees to mature. It occurred to me that if the neighbors were willing to catalogue the trees, they might be willing to water them. As so, a partnership was proposed and formed between Public Works and the SNA.

“Over the past year, Public Works has worked with the SNA to identify locations where trees could be planted. The SNA led the efforts in canvassing and recruiting people to agree to the water maintenance of the trees. Over the year we expanded the scope of the work: in some cases, creating new basins and filing in old basins that no longer met ADA compliance codes. In total, we’ll be planting 31 trees. Neighbors were allowed to choose their species tree from gingko, little gem magnolia, olive, Saratoga Bay laurel, Brisbane box, London plane tree. They have agreed to water the trees for the first three years of their life and allow them to become self-sustaining. This is a true partnership in every sense of the word and a fantastic example of how people can engage with the city to make it a more beautiful place to live.”

All photos by Bill Wilson Photography