CUOMO AND WALSH ANNOUNCE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE WILL BRING 1,000 TREES TO SYRACUSE

WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo and Congressman James Walsh today announced that federal assistance will help provide Syracuse, NY, with 1,000 mature trees to replace trees felled by the 1998 Labor Day windstorm. The announcement was made in a telephone conference call with Syracuse Mayor Roy Bernardi.

Bernardi asked Cuomo and Walsh for help two weeks ago in getting the trees, when the Secretary and the Congressman spent a day in Syracuse along with other top HUD officials. Today's announcement is a direct outgrowth of the Mayor's request. During his visit to Syracuse, Cuomo announced $18 million in HUD assistance to strengthen the city's economy.

With the assistance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, the planting of 1,000 new trees on city-owned property in Syracuse is slated to begin as early as next week and continue throughout the spring planting season and into the fall. Completion of the tree planting is scheduled for next spring. The trees range in height from 8 to 12 feet.

"The people of Syracuse are benefiting by the productive partnership established between Congressman Walsh, HUD and the U.S. Forest Service," Cuomo said. "These trees are a welcome addition to Syracuse."

"Our continuing relationship with HUD, and Secretary Cuomo in particular, is bringing positive results for our community," Walsh said. "Among them is this effort to plant mature trees in some of the neighborhoods hit hard by storms. I want to thank the Secretary for his sensitivity to Syracuse's needs in this and other regards."

As part of a longer-term reforestation plan, the USDA's Forest Service has pledged to include Syracuse in its Urban and Community Forestry Program, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said. "The Forest Service is committed to working with the city to address the loss of its valuable forest cover," he said.

The program provides technical and financial assistance to restore, maintain, and enhance communities' urban natural resources. Cuomo and Walsh were instrumental in establishing the relationship between USDA's Forest Service and the City of Syracuse.