In his testimony at a June 2019 City Council hearing on our urban forest, Chief of Environment and Energy, Chris Cook acknowledged the outsized environmental value that mature trees play. Trees are a critical tool for us to meet and adapt to the challenges that this future holds. Today, during this summer heat wave, we are witnessing Roxbury’s future: it, like the rest of Boston, is hotter and hotter. This reconstruction project was designed years ago, under a different administration, and before decision-makers understood the increased severity of climate change. Quoting from Mayor Walsh’s 2019 Climate Action Plan: “By 2050, Boston’s summers may be as hot as Washington, DC’s summers are today by the end of the century, they may be hotter than Birmingham, AL summers are today.” Our organizations include local residents concerned about this project and the impact the loss of trees will have on air quality, ambient temperature, and livability in this neighborhood, part of a designated severe heat island in Boston’s Climate Ready Boston Final Report from 2016. We write to support the request from the Conservation Law Foundation for a Chapter 87 Public Shade Tree hearing with the city’s Tree Warden concerning the removal of more than 100 mature trees in Lower Roxbury along Melnea Cass Boulevard. Re: Request for a public hearing concerning tree removal along Melnea Cass Boulevardĭear Commissioner Woods and Attorney Flaherty: Friends of Melnea Cass Boulevard c/o Val Shelley 5 DeGautier Way Roxbury, MA 02119 6, 2020Ĭommissioner Ryan Woods Corporation Counsel Eugene O’Flaherty