Hulaween: Making NYC a little more like Hawaii

Hawaii and New York have absolutely nothing in common, except for making Bette Midler the Eco-Diva she is today.

This Friday, October 30th, Ms. Midler is throwing her annual Hulaween Ball, a lavish Halloween wonderland in the Waldorf Astoria, with a little hula-flavor--a nod to her Hawaiian roots. It is the most important event of the year for her non-profit, The New York Restoration Project, an organization determined, among many other things, to plant a million trees in New York. It's up to 250,000 trees planted, and counting.

The organization, which raises most of its funding from Hulaween, works hard to ensure that every nature-starved New Yorker lives within walking distance to a "green space." Other greening initiatives include youth education programs, building community gardens and events in low-income neighborhoods.

I spoke with Midler last spring about "rough" New York in the 1970s, when it was dangerous to step foot in Central Park at any hour of the day.