The presence of trees in your neighborhood can often make all difference in the world. When describing so-called “nice” neighborhoods, reporters like me and my colleagues often use terms like “leafy” or “tree-lined.” It just makes places look and then sound nicer. Plus, trees help clean the air of pollution and cool sidewalks.

With this in mind, the city has (smartly) planted thousands of trees (375,000, according to city officials) throughout the five boroughs over the past few years as part of the mayor’s MillionTreesNYC initiative.