Fiat North America has
contributed 12-foot pear trees that are temporarily
planted in eight Fiat 500 full-size models through to
Sunday to participate in New York City Department of
Parks & Recreation and New York Restoration Project's
MillionTreesNYC initiative.
The cars line parts of
Canal Street and the Avenue of the Americas. Once the
exhibits are removed, the trees will have a permanent
home. Fiat North America is thus recycling a
well-received artistic initiative that started off in
Milan and which has also visited other key European
cities, such as Paris, where trees were placed in
full-scale fibreglass Fiat 500 models and displayed in
prominent locations.
Fiat's participation in the New York project is also
designed to mark the opening of its Fiat Gallery in the
SoHo arts and fashion district of the city, at 18
Wooster Street, as well as marking the U.S. unveiling of
the new Toluca, Mexico-built Fiat 500 Cabrio version,
which occurred during the New York International Auto
Show.
MillionTreesNYC, one of the 127 PlaNYC initiatives,
is a citywide, public-private program with an ambitious
goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across
the City's five boroughs over the next decade. By
planting one million trees, New York City can increase
its urban forest—our most valuable environmental asset
made up of street trees, park trees, and trees on
public, private and commercial land—by an astounding 20
percent, while achieving the many quality-of-life
benefits that come with planting trees. The City of New
York will plant 60 percent of trees in parks and other
public spaces. The other 40 percent will come from
private organizations, homeowners, and community
organizations.
