Drought presents dire threat to NYC's street trees, arborists say

There are more than 660,000 street trees in New York City, and many of them are dangerously dehydrated.

Local arborists said street trees — which are peed on by dogs, mostly ignored by humans and occasionally surrounded by litter — are suffering during the ongoing historic drought. While trees in city parks receive more attention from caretakers, the pin oaks, blackgums, silver lindens and other trees along sidewalks are rarely tended to, said Nina Browne, community field manager at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.