Tree division doing more with less

When the recent windstorms knocked down thousands of tree branches and limbs -- damaging cars, blocking streets and presenting a general public nuisance -- it fell to a budget-ravaged city agency to clean up the mess. Bob Strauss in the Daily News.

Like many city departments in recent years, the Urban Forestry Division of the city's Bureau of Street Services has seen its financial resources pruned and its personnel lopped.

Its 2010-11 budget was about $10.1 million -- down more than 25 percent from the $14.3 million it had in 2008-09. During the same period, the division lost almost 100 positions, a figure that includes other jobs such as landscape maintenance, not just tree crews.