public gardening

So there's a square spot in the sidewalk that probably once held a tree, but now just holds trash and rainwater. Does anyone know who to contact about replanting it? Or if anyone would care if I planted it myself? It's on the NW corner of Westminster and Church, next to the Chinese restaurant.

You might get something out of this:

http://www.publicspace.ca/gardeners.htm

Thanks! I've thought of that, actually, but assume there are people in charge of the trees on the block that would know much better than I what to plant, how to take care of it, etc. And we're probably already paying for it with taxes...

I'll check with 311 and then maybe just plant it myself.

You might also want to check out a book called "You Grow Girl" - full disclosure first: I illustrated it. But I'm not recommending it in a fit of shameless self-promotion. I recommend it because it's specifically about gardening in cities, and the author writes quite a bit about reclaiming space for planting. She talks about how to arrange it, how to clean ground that's been polluted by cigarette butts and garbage, and how to protect it from dogs, flower pickers, and vandals. She also talks about what plants work best in urban spaces. Have fun!

I just realized I never followed up on this topic.
I planted daffodils in the fall of 2007, a few of which flowered this spring. They were from the Daffodil Project:
http://www.ny4p.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=60
I also requested a tree from the Million Trees project in July, which means they will survey the plot for planting in the spring. Here's a link if there's an empty tree pit you'd like to see planted:
http://www.milliontreesnyc.org
Note there's a link to the regular parks department tree request on that site as well.