New York Restoration Project & BNP Paribas Volunteers Beautify St. Mary’s Hospital with New Trees

Specially Designed Landscape to Complement New Patient Pavilion & Provide Total-Healing Environment for New York’s Sickest Kids

In preparation for the grand opening of the new Patient Pavilion at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children, New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and employee volunteers from BNP Paribas were joined by New York City Council Member Dan Halloran to roll up their sleeves on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 and kick off the first in a series of tree plantings on the hospital’s Bayside campus. Over the next year, 300 new trees will be planted at St. Mary’s as part of MillionTreesNYC – an initiative by NYRP and the City of New York to plant and care for one million new trees throughout the City’s five boroughs by 2017.

The trees are part of an intricately designed landscape that, along with the new state-of-the-art rehabilitation facility, will provide St. Mary’s kids with a total-healing environment where they can grow and thrive. The architectural landscape, designed by TBG Partners and managed by Turner Construction Company, is a component of the overall modernization and expansion of St. Mary’s post-acute inpatient facility that serves children with medically fragile conditions and their families.

“We are enormously grateful to all of the volunteers who came together to revitalize the hospital grounds,” said St. Mary’s President Jeff Frerichs. “Nature has miraculous therapeutic and healing powers, and the additional greenery will have endless benefits for New York’s sickest children.”

The project is made possible by funding from BNP Paribas, one of the largest supporters of MillionTreesNYC since 2008.

“It is a great honor to be part of a project that not only beautifies the city but symbolizes life for these courageous children fighting threatening ailments,” said Everett Schenk, CEO BNP Paribas, North America. “I hope that by planting these trees, we are imparting hope into the children’s hearts.”

The project is NYRP’s largest and most intricate planting in a working construction site with corporate volunteers. It is also the largest NYRP planting in a renovation of a hospital grounds.

“NYRP is thrilled to be a part of this important project at St. Mary’s, and thank BNP Paribas for its generous support to make it possible,” said Amy Freitag, Executive Director of NYRP. “These new trees will create a cool, inviting retreat for St Mary’s young patients and will provide a healthier environment for all New Yorkers.”

The children of St. Mary’s are battling complex medical and life-limiting conditions due to serious illness, injury, and complications of premature birth. In addition to traditional medical and rehabilitative interventions, St. Mary’s uses a variety of therapeutic activities, including a horticultural program, to help patients meet their clinical goals.