Downtown Express: Planting trees of remembrance here and in D.C.

By John Bayles

The life of a tree tends to be longer than a human’s. Perhaps that is why ceremonial tree plantings are common when it comes to commemorating the lives lost.

On Monday, Community Board 1 hosted a tree-planting ceremony in Battery Park, where a pin oak tree was planted near Castle Clinton. It is the first of numerous trees that will line a bike path connecting the city’s west and east sides. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, NYC Comptroller John Liu, Councilmember Margaret Chin, NYS Sen. Daniel Squadron and C.B. l Chair Julie Menin all got their hands dirty as they put shovels in the ground.

Then on Tuesday, another tree was planted at the nation’s capitol in Washington D.C. Congressman Nadler was joined by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and NY Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Nydia Velázquez, Eliot Engel, Michael Grimm, and New Jersey Representative Steve Rothman and Representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, as they planted a swamp white oak in Capitol Square.

“Thank you to Congressman Nadler and my colleagues for giving us this opportunity for renewal,” said Pelosi. “This will be an inspiration to us to remember those we have lost and also an inspiration for the heroism and bravery and courage that we all saw that day.”

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