Petition for Trees Sent to Astoria Fed.

A week or so ago we posted one locals quest to get more trees on McDonald and Church Ave. Specifically they addressed the dust bowl corner that is home to our local Astoria Federal. We got word she forwarded the letter below to AF a few days ago. Hip Hip Hooray! And many kudos to this dedicated local for taking the initiative. We can't wait to see what the reply is!

Below is the letter sent to AF branch manager and... in case you didn't sign it here's the petition ( http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/greenerbrooklyn/).

Ms. Martine Kimmey
Branch Manager
Astoria Federal Savings Bank
101 Church Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11218

Dear Ms. Kimmey,
We spoke about a week ago regarding the lack of green and trees on the McDonald and Church Avenue corners that Astoria Federal Savings Bank currently occupies. In that time, I briefly posted an on-line petition requesting Astoria Federal Savings Bank to please lead the way in the beautification of Church Avenue by putting trees on your property. In the 5 days I had the petition up, I received 96 signatures hoping that Astoria Federal would be a good neighbor and take this initiative. I also spoke to the forestry department who will be sending out an inspector to see if it would be problematic to plant due to the bus stop and the subway grates. I was then informed by the forestry department that if there IS a problem, then Astoria Federal Savings could put out, at their own expense, above ground planters in which you could plant small trees and greenery, flowers etc.

The community would greatly appreciate you taking our request seriously and leading the way to a healthier and greener Church and McDonald Avenues. The environmental issues such as global warming and increased asthma rates in children are becoming important issues to many new and old residents. I am enclosing for the consideration of your marketing department, the petition as well as the tree planting permit application. Of course, you can also download the request for the city to plant trees free of charge on your property. (The city is backlogged and there may not be a visible difference to that corner for several years so we hope you will consider planting trees or if not possible, please put out large planters).