AFTER THE
Brooklynites deal with the
Many Brooklynites were still waiting for the city to help more than a week after Tropical Storm Isaias blew through the borough.
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COURIER L 4 IFE, AUGUST 14-20, 2020
ROSE ADAMS
One week after Tropical
Storm Isaias tore through
New York City, hundreds of
Brooklynites are still waiting
on city offi cials to pick up
downed trees.
Dyker Heights resident
Reyes Martinez, 50, said he
has been waiting for seven
days for the city to dispose of
a gigantic tree that toppled
onto his house during the
Aug. 4 storm.
“We’re concerned if it
rains again, the tree may
slip and go right on top of the
house,” he said.
The night of the storm,
Martinez said he heard a
crack against his 12th Avenue
house by 80th Street. He
ran to his bedroom and saw
a tree had slammed into the
two-story building, breaking
shingles, smashing the
air conditioner, and cracking
several windows.
Martinez, who fi led a complaint
with the city about the
tree fi ve years ago, said he
called 311 close to 30 times to
remove the tree, but no one
responded for 72 hours.
“We were without power
for three days consistently
calling Con Edison, calling
311, until it came to the point
when we had to go to the local
politicians,” said Martinez.
Con Edison fi nally arrived
to his block on Aug. 7 to restore
power and clear some
fallen branches with the help
of the Parks Department. The
workers left the bulk of the
fallen tree in place, but still
told him later in an email that
his service request was closed
and that Parks “performed
the work necessary to correct
the condition,” he said.
The storm knocked out
power for more than 24,000
Brooklynites and downed
10,000 trees citywide. But
while Con Ed has restored
most of the outages, many residents
are still waiting on the
Parks Department to clear
the debris.
Fellow Dyker Heights native
John Armento, 68, told
Brooklyn Paper he’s been
stuck with a hefty insurance
bill after Isaias sent a tree
smashing into his car.
“I was hoping they would
work with me and know that I
cannot drive that car, there’s
no way to drive that car,” the
retired sanitation worker said
of his insurance company,
which he claims won’t let him
cancel his insurance yet. “I
just don’t feel it’s fair.”
Across the borough in Canarsie,
Conklin Avenue resident
Gailyen Bender had to
wait a full week for Parks to
chop up a downed tree that
landed on her family’s home
of 34 years, and for Con Ed
to get her electricity back up
and running. As of Aug. 12,
massive chunks of the felled
tree still littered her front
yard — but she was equally
frustrated with the delayed
response from her utility
company.
“Con Edison should either
be prepared for the next
storm or relinquish their duties
to the city,” Bender told
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