By Victoria Keraj
Brooklyn College (BC) will begin removing the East Quad elm trees to make way for new ones as part of a series of capital projects focused on renovations and improvements.
The BC community was made aware of the upcoming construction from USG president Cyle Paul, who expressed that the change was “a tough goodbye, but necessary,” in an email sent to the BC community on Nov. 10.
Removing the trees is a part of BC’s East Quad Renovation project.
The project specifies that the current elm species, the Siberian elms, will be replaced with American elms, which have longer lifespans and are more resistant to diseases and rising summer temperatures.
According to the project, the trees date back to the 1930s, when BC was first founded. BC administration shared that a team of tree care experts, urban arborists, took inventory of the BS trees as part of scoping for the renovation project. BC administration told The Vanguard, “That inventory recommended removal of the large elms because they were past their lifespan and showed signs of significant wear and tear.”
Alan Gilbert, Senior Vice President (VP) for Finance and Administration, previously hosted an open forum where he elaborated on the project and shared a graphic detailing the proposed planting scheme for the quad. The planting scheme was designed by a team of professional arborists and landscape artists hired by CUNY Central.
During the forum, Gilbert also introduced other capital projects, such as the installation of new fiber cables for improved Wi-Fi in BC, which are included in a CUNY 5-year capital plan.
The plan mentions other improvements to the quad, such as updating the paving and lighting. There are also plans to replace “the subsurface utilities infiltrated by tree roots and failing with age,” according to the project proposal. The email sent by USG president Paul mentions the trees’ roots, which are damaging the foundation.
“The project is not only replacing the elm trees and greatly enhancing the plant beds surrounding the quad, but it is also renovating the walkways, strengthening and improving the infrastructure beneath the lawn, and replacing the doors to Boylan and Ingersoll facing the Quad,” BC told The Vanguard.
While Paul’s announcement states the East Quad will be fenced off for construction in the coming weeks, an email sent by Gilbert ahead of the 2025 Fall semester states the construction will begin in the spring.
BC administration shared that the new changes to the East Quad will create “[…] a more beautiful and welcoming environment for all.”