I snapped a few pictures today of the new trees planted at Bar and Grill Park in Dumbo (“that empty patch on York Street along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway where the Between the Bridges Pub used to be before Shaya Boymelgreen put up the Beacon Tower”) and on Front Street that The Brooklyn Papers featured today. Full BP article after the jump.

Front Street between Washington and Adams Street:

{DUMBO gets trees, lighting, Brooklyn Papers, 1/6/07}

By Gersh Kuntzman
The Brooklyn Papers

Just in time for the dead of winter — street trees!

The borough’s least-green neighborhood — the trendy, but formerly manufacturing-heavy DUMBO — just got nearly two dozen street trees, thanks to the neighborhood (don’t say ‘business’) improvement district.

“The streetscapes in this neighborhood have been neglected for years, not only due to a lack of trees, but also basic things like sidewalks and sewers,” said Tucker Reed, executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District, a local BID in everything but name. “We’re just trying to catch up to the rest of the city.”

The trees went in last Friday along Front Street and in nearby Bar and Grill Park (that empty patch on York Street along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway where the Between the Bridges Pub used to be before Shaya Boymelgreen put up the Beacon Tower).

Although it took months to get the trees, the Parks Department certainly got them in the ground quickly, barely giving us time to snap the photo above.

Reed said his group isn’t stopping with a few good maples. Next up? Streetlamps.

“The Department of Transportation has done a survey to identify places to install more lighting,” he said. “We should get it by spring.”

More lighting! Just in time for the later sunsets of summer.