U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday that the federal government will provide $3 million in funding to help Rochester meet its goal of planting 6,000 trees across the city.
The New York Democrat came to the city in May, where he and local officials talked about an effort to bring more foliage to urban landscapes across the country.
At that time, Schumer said that, “It’s time to make the long-held vision of a greener, healthier and more equitable Rochester finally take root and blossom.”
In a statement released Thursday, said that he had personally called the Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, to advocate for the Rochester project after meeting with community leaders on the importance of the funding.
Schumer said that Rochester will be one of the first cities in the country to tap the funding he secured as part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
At that news conference held in the Upper Falls neighborhood in May, Mayor Malik Evans said the focus is on equity in a city where the poorest neighborhoods have little to no tree canopy while wealthier neighborhoods have a lot more greenery.
“I want to ensure that every street in Rochester has the same amount of trees that bud in the spring, offer a lush canopy in the summer and signal the changing of fall, and we’re able to do that with this program,” Evans said.
Last May, local officials said that the plan is to plant 6,000 trees between now and 2025. The total program would total around $5 million, with the majority coming from that federal grant and the rest from the city.
