New York City should carefully measure a new tree

New York City's tallest tree has been the Queens Giant, which was measured at 133.8 feet tall and 19 feet in circumference back in 2004. It's time to identify other potential candidates for the title of tallest carefully measured tree in the city. This idea came to mind while researching a larger project in New England, and while walking through Inwood Hill Park.

The use of LiDAR had also been on my mind, as my current project extensively utilizes this technology. LiDAR has provided unprecedented insights into land, terrain, and tree canopies. After analyzing data from the May 2021 airborne LiDAR flight conducted by New York City, published by The Nature Conservancy and the University of Vermont, I have identified several promising candidates for the city's tallest tree.

The data was sourced from the city's May 2021 airborne LiDAR flight, published by The Nature Conservancy and the University of Vermont as a citywide layer of estimated tree objects. Earlier figures were derived from the 2013-14 survey conducted by Ma et al. (2023). The aerial imagery is provided by the New York State orthoimagery from summer 2025, and the USDA NAIP 2019 for Alley Pond.

The tallest to shortest candidates are as follows. While this report is not definitive, it serves as a suggestion for those responsible for measuring trees in the city to explore potential new contenders. The author lives near Inwood Hill Park, where a few tulip trees were cut down due to branches falling. These trees were likely hundreds of years old.

The author cautions against the possibility of accidentally cutting down the tallest tree in the city.