The city also seems to only plant wimpy little trees like locusts that offer little shade compared to say the sycamores (much less elms) of yesteryear. There are streets in Brooklyn and the Upper West and East sides that should be models for relatively treeless places. Each neighborhood should get a 'street czar' with power to plant trees, get things moving on vacant lots and old scaffolds, remove graffiti and otherwise improve the streetscapes.