Bootleg Betty
Bette Midler’s remarks at the MillionTreesNYC ceremony, on November 20, 2015
By Mister D
June 9, 2026
On November 20, 2015, a public ceremony was held at Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx to celebrate the success of MillionTreesNYC. The initiative, launched in 2007 by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Restoration Project (founded by Bette Midler), had surpassed its goal of planting one million trees two years ahead of schedule. The event marked the planting of tree No. 1,017,634—an American basswood sapling—following the official millionth tree planted earlier that October.
Notable attendees included Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Bette Midler, NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, and local officials. The ceremony featured speeches, community participation with schoolchildren, and a rare joint appearance by de Blasio and Bloomberg. That evening, the Empire State Building was lit in forest green to honor the milestone. The program significantly greened the city, with the Bronx receiving over 276,000 trees.
