NYC Parks, PwC & New York Knicks Partner to Plant 3,500 Trees in Queens

NYC Parks and PwC teamed up with the New York Knicks on Thursday to plant 3,500 trees and 1,050 shrubs in Alley Pond Park in Queens today. Attendees included NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier and former Knick Jerome Williams, the Knicks City Dancers, PwC Partner and New York Market Youth Education Leader Mitch Roschelle, students from P.S. 161 and more than 100 volunteers from PwC's New York market, the Knicks, and NYC Parks.

As part of the "Trees for Threes" program, PwC donates one tree for every three-pointer made during the Knicks' home games in conjunction with Parks' MillionTreesNYC planting program. Through 41 home games, the Knicks have connected on over 500 three-pointers and PwC more than tripled that number.

"The Knicks and PwC understand the importance of adding trees to NYC's ecosystem and how valuable care and stewardship are to the health of young trees on the streets and in our parks," said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. "We are so happy to be a part of their "Trees for Threes" program and will be watching all their home games and rooting for three-pointers!"

"Trees for Threes is an important part of PwC's environmental and sustainability efforts in New York," said Brendan Dougher, Managing Partner of the PwC New York Metro Market. "We're pleased to have students from P.S. 161, who we work with through PwC's Earn Your Future financial literacy program, join us in today's planting at Alley Pond Park. It's a great opportunity for us all to work together to improve our communities."

Alley Pond Park offers glimpses into New York's geologic past, its colonial history, and its current conservation efforts. Because of its glacier-formed moraine, the park has numerous unique natural features, like its freshwater and saltwater wetlands, tidal flats, meadows, and forests, which create a diverse ecosystem and support abundant bird life.

The park is also home to New York City's first public high ropes adventure course (the largest in the Northeast), part of NYC Parks' Urban Park Rangers' larger Alley Pond Park Adventure program. A low-cost outdoor education and adventure program, Alley Pond Park Adventure teaches participants how to canoe, use a compass, fish, and enjoy a natural setting without leaving NYC.

Image Credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila