Volunteers from around NYC dedicate time to Sunset Park tree care

On Saturday, Feb. 21, a group of around thirty volunteers gathered to care for street trees along 2nd Avenue in Sunset Park. Within two hours, students from New York University and Brooklyn Technical High School cared for and beautified eleven tree beds. The event, the first of three in Sunset Park, was organized by Big Reuse, a nonprofit organization and resale warehouse.

Volunteers cleaned up trash, aerated soil, and spread mulch before sweeping surrounding areas. After only fifteen minutes of care each, the tree beds looked freshly planted. Eleven eight-by-ten-foot tree beds were tended to.

Lorial Crowder, Assistant Manager of Street Care for Big Reuse and leader of the event, said that if the tree beds had been half their size, double the number of beds could have been cleaned up. Most tree beds across the five boroughs are half the size of those on 2nd Avenue, although there has been an effort to enlarge them. Larger tree beds help absorb water during heavy rainfall, which can ease pressure on the city’s sewer system.

College students who made the trek from Manhattan were part of NYU’s Give Where You Live (GWYL) initiative, a program that facilitates service opportunities for NYU students.

Leo Fields, a sophomore studying Politics and Cinema Studies, led a cohort to Sunset Park.

“It’s a way of giving back to the community and also to get out of the NYU bubble,” Fields said.

Denise Vaque, another NYU student, echoed a similar sentiment. “I’m not from New York so I don’t want to play into the transplant idea where you live here, but you don’t engage with the community. That’s why I volunteer.”

The students from Brooklyn Tech are part of a club named H.O.P.E., which provides volunteer opportunities for its members to help them gain a deeper insight into their community.

The parks department receives less than 1% of the city’s annual budget. As such, many projects go unrealized and tree beds across the city are left unmaintained. Big Reuse fills some of the gaps through its Street Care initiative and partnerships with sixteen different local council members.

“The parks department doesn’t have the resources to take care of all 900,000 street trees, but New Yorkers still deserve to have beautiful environments,” Crowder said. “Especially places like Sunset Park. Park Slope is right there, and it’s great that they have so many resources, but Sunset Park deserves just as much love.”

This series of events in Sunset Park is sponsored by the office of Council Member Alexa Avilés, which provided discretionary funds that mostly covered gardening supplies.

Ross Joy, Special Advisor for the office of Avilés, attended the event.

“We sent a blast to the Brooklyn Army Terminal to share with their tenants, letting them know they should volunteer with us. Hopefully they join for one of the other events. And hopefully we get more locals to join,” Joy said.

One Sunset Park local, who gave only her first name, Elizabeth, was in attendance. She moved to Sunset Park from Astoria, Queens, in 2024.

“I wanted to get outside, do something in my community, make it beautiful,” Elizabeth said. “Everyone, me included, is stuck behind screens these days and I’m trying to change that. Out here is where life happens.”

The two remaining events take place on Saturday, February 28, and Saturday, March 7, both from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at different locations along 2nd Avenue. For more information about joining an event, visit lnk.bio/stcnyc or contact Alexa Avilés’ office.