The rallying cry: Fewer trees! More community board lackeys!

From the Queens Gazette:

Board 14 Chairperson Jonathan Gaska said, “The community boards’ budget is 0.02 percent of the city’s total budget and we are going to have 6 percent of all city-wide layoffs.”

Gaska also voiced the opinion of other district managers that planting fewer trees in Queens would reduce spending and prevent community board layoffs. He explained, “The mayor spends over $1,000 to plant a tree. If the mayor plants 28 less trees in each community board, you will not have to cut community boards. You will not have to have 48 layoffs. You will not have to have 48 people on welfare or food stamps.” Community Board 7 District Manager Marilyn Bitterman suggested cutting the planting of new trees by 40 in each community district to help restore proposed cuts to the boards. “How can I run an office with a one-and-a-half-person staff?” she asked, expressing the fears of many of the chairs that reduced funding would result in reduced staffing. Board 7, which covers Flushing, College Point, Whitestone other communities, is the largest of the city’s 59 community boards with 259,000 residents living within its borders. Marshall concurred, adding, “Queens has more trees than any other borough. A few less trees wouldn’t hurt us.”