Rio Prosecutors Expand Flamengo Tree-Cutting Probe With Jan. 20 Deadline for City

Overview

• GAEMA/MPRJ expanded an ongoing inquiry into actions at the protected former Colégio Bennett site to include the recent tree removals and set a Jan. 20 deadline for a transparency report from City Hall.
• The city’s federation of neighborhood associations filed a civil suit seeking to halt construction, suspend licenses, and prohibit further cutting at Rua Marquês de Abrantes 55.
• The City Council’s Environment Commission will request information on compensatory planting locations, noting rules that prioritize replanting within the affected neighborhood.
• Developers and City Hall say the project is properly licensed and outline mitigation that includes planting 71 trees in Flamengo, 632 native seedlings, and transplanting two pau-brasil specimens.
• Residents report heat and wildlife loss after roughly 71 trees across 42 species were felled, and a protest is scheduled for Saturday morning outside the site in Flamengo.