Terms of Use and Privacy Policy of Trees New York
Updated September 21, 2018
About Trees New York and this Policy
Trees New York is a non-profit organization whose mission is to plant, preserve, and protect New York City’s trees. We are incorporated in New York State as the New York City Street Tree Consortium, and we are a 501(c)(3) organization.
This Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (the “Policy) governs the terms of use for this website and our services. By using this site or our services, you agree to abide by these terms. If you do not agree, do not use this site or our services. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us. This Policy may be updated periodically, and your use of this site constitutes continuing acceptance of any updates to these terms, so please check this page periodically. This Policy also describes our privacy practices — how we collect and use your personal data. Privacy is as important to us as it is to you.
How we collect, use, and share your personal information
Trees New York collects certain information about individuals and organizations that we interact with. Usually, this is basic information that we use to contact you, such as name, address, email address, and phone numbers. We collect information that you may voluntarily provide, such as inquiries or responses to surveys, which we use to improve our organization and services.
Among our many activities, we train and issue licenses to New York City Citizen Pruners on behalf of the New York City Department of Parks. Thus, we maintain contact and licensing information about all Citizen Pruners. If we are asked by an appropriate governmental organization (such as law enforcement or New York City Parks), we will inform them about whether or not an individual is currently licensed as a Citizen Pruner. Licensed Citizen Pruners are allowed to conduct certain tree pruning activities on street trees owned by New York City that would be unlawful without this license (more on this below in the section on Tree Pruning and Tree Care).
We may share personal information with third parties to the extent necessary to provide services. For example, if you sign up for a workshop or tree care outing, your name might need to be shared with necessary parties to grant you access to where the event is held. We may share personal information with your consent, such as if you ask us to share your contact information with other participants in a tree care outing. In all cases, information shared is limited to what is necessary for the function or service.
We comply with applicable laws, so if we are served with appropriate legal process (e.g. a subpoena) we will provide information that is lawfully requested.
We never sell your personal information or contact information of any type to anyone. We never share your personal information with third parties for the purpose of their marketing to you, nor do we use third-party marketing companies.
Communications preferences
We send out occasional emails and regular mail (“snail mail”) about our activities, to organize the community, and for fundraising. You can manage your communications preferences at any time, including by “opting out” of these communications, or changing or deleting the contact information we store about you. Our emails have an “opt-out” link, and at any time you can email, call, or write us to adjust your communications preferences. Our email contact management system tracks the delivery of emails using a common practice known as a “web beacon” which is an unobtrusive mechanism that allows us to see if an email was properly delivered and opened. You can disable the function of these web beacons through the settings in the application you use to read your email (e.g. in Outlook, Mail, Thunderbird, or web browser).
Website
The Trees NY website collects certain basic information automatically and stores it in log files. Information collected may include internet protocol (IP) addresses, the region or general location where your computer or device is accessing the internet, browser type, operating system and other usage information about the use of the website. We cannot identify you individually, and use this general information to help us improve our site to better suit our users’ needs or reach a larger audience. We may use analytics tools, which are common and help us learn about general trends in our website usage and does not identify you personally.
Cookies
Like most websites, our website uses cookies, which are small pieces of data that the website stores on the user’s computer. Our cookies are simple, do not track website usage across your various devices, do not track you across different websites, and expire automatically when your session on our website ends. You can choose to block most cookies using your web browser’s settings. If you do so our site will probably work just as well for you.
Third party links and financial information
Please keep your donations coming, that is how we fund our operations! To process online credit card donations securely, we use a reliable and trustworthy third-party service company. Thus, you might be directed to another website to make this payment, and if so the information you provide to them will be governed by their terms of use and policies. The information they provide to us about you will be governed by our Policy. If you provide us with financial information (e.g. mailing a check or providing your credit card information by phone), we maintain it only as needed to process the transaction.
Whenever you leave our site and go to another site, whether it is a third party payment processor, NYC.gov, or social media sites, you will also be governed by their terms of use and policies.
Tree pruning, tree care (stewardship), and more
We make efforts to provide accurate and helpful information on this site, but you assume all risk for any activities you undertake. Tree stewardship and tree pruning have some safety risks for you and others around you (there are sharp tools and falling limbs), and property risks. There are also some civil and even criminal legal implications. Remember also that failing to care for trees properly also has safety and property risks.
Licensed Citizen Pruners must follow their training [and the Citizen Pruner Code of Conduct]. Remember that this license authorizes you only with respect to NYC Street Trees, not trees in parks, and not trees on private property. The license is limited to certain pruning activities (e.g. prune safely, don’t prune newly planted trees, two feet on the ground at all times, no power tools). Check your training materials and our website for more information.
If you are not a licensed Citizen Pruner, pruning trees may violate criminal, civil, and administrative law. Pruning a tree that you do not have permission to prune may constitute damage to the property of another, and civil or criminal consequences may arise. New York City and New York State have laws that prohibit pruning of NYC trees, or damaging the property of others.
Some tree stewardship activities on NYC street trees do not require any license, and are encouraged by Trees NY and NYC Parks. This includes caring for the soil where trees are planted (known as “tree pits”) through watering, weeding, mulching, and planting annuals or perennials. These activities must still be conducted safely and responsibly. Follow the guidelines issued by Trees NY and New York City Parks. Also visit the New York City Street Tree Map at: https://tree-map.nycgovparks.org where you can create an account for yourself with NYC to record your street tree care activity. If you are a Citizen Pruner, we encourage you to identify your status at the NYC Tree Map website, which will allow you to record tree pruning activities. Remember that your use of the NYC website is governed by their terms of use and privacy policy.
Children and their privacy
TreesNY does not knowingly collect information from minors or children under the age of 13 on our website, nor do we collect information about the age of visitors to our website.
If you are a minor or child under 13, please ask your parent, guardian, or caretaker for permission before providing any information online to us or anyone else.
We strongly encourage parents and guardians to monitor their children’s internet usage, for their safety and for the protection of their privacy. If you believe a child under the age of 13 under your supervision has provided information to us, please contact us so that we may delete that information from our database.
Transfer of information upon change of control
Trees NY has been around for a long time, and we are not going anywhere. Nevertheless, should there be an organizational change, merger, or transfer of ownership involving Trees NY, then the information assets of the organization (including personal information of our contacts) would also be transferred.
Intellectual Property
Our content is copyrighted, and was created thanks to our staff, board, volunteers, grants, and donations, and is used to educate the public in NYC and beyond. Use of our website materials or brochures for offline non-profit educational purposes is encouraged, so long as Trees NY is expressly credited, and the materials are kept in their original form. Linking to our website content is also encouraged, since that helps spread the word. However, appropriating our content as your own, or copying our content and hosting it on your site, is not allowed. Trees NY remains the owner of our content, and you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading, copying, or using any such material.
Use of our material for commercial purposes, or use of any of our training materials, is expressly prohibited, unless you first obtain our express written permission. Please feel free to contact us to discuss this and potential partnerships. Our logos are the property of Trees NY.
Location, venue, choice of law
We are a New York City non-profit, serving the New York City community, though we are part of the national and international environmental community, and love to connect with others outside of our city. We do not anticipate any conflicts in our common goal to improve our environment, but you agree that any disputes arising from the use of this website or our services are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to any principles of conflicts of laws contained therein. You further agree that any action at law or in equity that arises will be filed only in the state or federal courts located in New York County, and you consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of litigating any such action. Other jurisdictions might afford more privacy rights (e.g. the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or California’s Consumer Privacy Act of 2018), but New York law governs all of our interactions.
Questions, concerns, complaints, compliments, suggestions, requests to volunteer or donate
We serve the community and are always looking to improve. Send us your communications by mail, phone, or email to:
Trees New York
100 Gold Street #3100
New York, NY 10038
(646) 537-0901
info@treesny.org