New York, NY Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)
Key Facts
- Designating body
- Landmarks Preservation Commission
- Eligible property
- City-owned land only
- Minimum age for designation
- 30 years old or older
- Plan review turnaround
- Report published within 45 days
- Maintenance-duty fine, 1st offense
- $500 to $1,000 or 30 days
- Maintenance-duty fine, repeat
- $2,500 to $5,000 or 90 days
Summary
New York City has no separate "heritage tree" program: the Landmarks Preservation Commission designates individual trees and landscape features as scenic landmarks under Administrative Code § 25-303. Designation is limited to city-owned property and triggers a maintenance duty and a public review requirement before any alteration.
(3) to designate and, in order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, to make supplemental designations as additions to a list of scenic landmarks, located on property owned by the city, which are identified by a description setting forth the general characteristics and location thereof... The commission may, after a public hearing, whether at the time it designates a scenic landmark or at any time thereafter, specify the nature of any construction, reconstruction, alteration or demolition of any landscape feature which may be performed on such scenic landmark without prior issuance of a report pursuant to subdivision c of section 25-318.
Full Breakdown
The Landmarks Law defines a "scenic landmark" as any landscape feature, or aggregate of features, at least thirty years old with "special character or special historical or aesthetic interest or value as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the city, state or nation" (Admin. Code § 25-302(w)). Only the Landmarks Preservation Commission can confer that status, and only on property the city itself owns (§ 25-303(a)(3)). Once a tree or planted feature is designated, the commission may specify in advance what construction, reconstruction, alteration or demolition can happen without a report; absent that, the city agency proposing the work must refer its plans to the commission, which issues a report published in the City Record within 45 days (§ 25-318(c)).
The commissioner of parks and recreation can also request an advisory report on work near a scenic landmark. New designations, and any amendment, are grandfathered against work already permitted or approved before the designation took effect (§ 25-321). Only a dozen sites citywide currently carry scenic-landmark status, including two individually landmarked trees in Brooklyn and Queens: the Magnolia grandiflora at 679 Lafayette Avenue, designated in 1970 as a neighborhood symbol, and the Weeping Beech planted in Flushing in the 1840s and landmarked in 1966. Because scenic-landmark designation attaches to city-owned land, a privately owned old or notable tree cannot be designated this way; it has no protection under this chapter unless the city acquires the parcel.
Violations & Fines
Every person in charge of a scenic landmark "shall keep in good repair all portions thereof" (§ 25-311(c)). A first violation of that maintenance duty is punishable under § 25-317(b) by a fine of $500 to $1,000 or up to 30 days in jail, or both; a second or subsequent violation carries $2,500 to $5,000 or up to 90 days, or both. There is no separate criminal fine tied to failing to route alteration plans through the § 25-318(c) report process, since that step runs between city agencies rather than against a private permit applicant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a tree on private property become a NYC scenic landmark?
What has to happen before a designated scenic landmark tree can be altered or removed?
Are there any NYC trees actually designated this way?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New York
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