For more than 10 years a sad, dead twig has extended like a gnarled witch’s finger from the sidewalk tree bed outside of my Williamsburg apartment.

It was once a young tree, I guess, but now bakes in the sun above an accumulated stockpile of litter and dog waste. I finally decided to do something about it.

Under the city’s Million Trees program, which offers to plant free trees around the five boroughs, I put in a request for the city to entrust my block with a new tree.

“Your Service Request has been sent to the Department of Parks and Recreation,” the automated response read. “DPR will respond within 720 days.”