All street and park trees in New York City are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation. Administrative Code Sec. 18-129 makes it unlawful to cut, remove, or in any way destroy a tree on public property without written consent from the Commissioner, punishable as a misdemeanor by up to a $15,000 fine and one year in jail, plus a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.
New York City vests control of street trees in the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). Under Administrative Code Sec. 18-105, trees in streets found to be without an owner are under the exclusive care and cultivation of the Commissioner, and privately planted street trees must conform to the rules the Commissioner adopts. Administrative Code Sec. 18-129(a) makes it unlawful for any individual, firm, corporation, agent, or employee to cut, remove, or in any way destroy a tree or other vegetation on public property under the Commissioner's jurisdiction without first acquiring written consent from the Commissioner; the only exception is for department employees performing their authorized duties. In practice this means a homeowner cannot prune or remove the street tree in front of their house without a DPR Tree Work Permit, and construction-related work within 50 feet of a City tree also requires a permit. Routine pruning of street trees is performed by DPR on a community-board cycle. Residents who wish to prune street tree limbs themselves must hold a Citizen Pruner license issued through Trees New York, the only organization DPR authorizes to license New Yorkers to prune street trees; no pruning is allowed in conservancy-run parks such as Central Park, Prospect Park, or Riverside Park.
Under Administrative Code Sec. 18-129(b), violating the tree provision is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to fifteen thousand dollars, or imprisonment of up to one year, or both, for each violation. The violator is also liable for a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars per violation, recoverable in a proceeding before the Environmental Control Board, and may be denied permission to do tree work on public property for up to two years from the date of conviction or civil penalty.
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