Seemingly Healthy Tree Topples in PLG, Blocking Street and Raising Questions
A tremendous tree came crashing down in Prospect Lefferts Gardens Tuesday morning, toppling two cars and blocking off an entire street to traffic.
A large tree toppled two cars in Prospect Lefferts Gardens on Tuesday morning, and closed off an entire street to traffic. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
A tremendous tree came crashing down in Prospect Lefferts Gardens Tuesday morning, toppling two cars and blocking off an entire street to traffic.
The large rotted tree broke off at the root just after 9:30 a.m. on July 26 outside of 1 Parkside Court, completely crushing two vehicles on a private street on Parkside Avenue between Ocean and Flatbush avenues — not far from Brooklyn’s Backyard.
Fire Department personnel responded and told a reporter at the scene that the tree was in the hands of the city’s Parks Department. However, representatives for the city’s green spaces told Brooklyn Paper that since the tree came down on a private street, it was not within the department’s jurisdiction.
Much of the roadway had been cleared by Tuesday afternoon — by a Parkside Court resident.
The man, who declined to provide his name, confirmed that the tree’s roots had died, and said no one on the block — a private entity for more than a century — really knows how old the tree is.
Although the block gets select city services like sanitation and primary utilities, the man said that, when something like this happens, the block’s residents are ultimately responsible for cleanup.
“I think when it’s convenient, they tell us that this isn’t their problem,” he said of the Parks Department.
Photo by Ben Brachfeld
As of 3 p.m., the tree had been diced up with a chainsaw, and was no longer obstructing traffic.
The city’s Department of Sanitation will clear the piles of branches, the resident said, but as for the biggest part of the trunk: the driver of the car beneath it will have to figure out what to do with it.
No injuries were reported, but the tree also took out a wooden bench constructed around its base.
[Photos by Lloyd Mitchell unless noted otherwise]
Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.
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