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QUEENS WEEKLY, AUGUST 9, 2020
Queens sees highest number of downed trees
Over 9,000 downed tree complaints in Queens were made to the New York City Parks Department following Tropical Storm Isaias on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Photo by Dean Moses
BY JACOB KAYE
With tens of thousands
of New Yorkers still without
power following Tropical
Storm Isaias’ walloping
of New York City on
Tuesday, Aug. 4, Governor
Andrew Cuomo declared a
state of emergency to help
with clean-up and power
restoration.
Trees, big and small,
came crashing down across
Queens on Tuesday, unable
to stand tall in the face of a
tropical storm that left more
than 47,000 Con Edison customers
in the borough without
power. In all, the New
York City Parks Department
received over 9,000 reports
of downed trees in the
borough.
Tropical Storm Isaias
swept through New York
City on Tuesday, bringing
down countless trees
and branches across the
city. Around 20,500 reports
of tree damage citywide
were made to the parks department
by Wednesday
morning.
Fallen trees blocked
roadways, snagged power
lines, crashed into cars and
killed a man in Briarwood
who was sitting in a vehicle
when a tree landed on top of
it.
Some streets saw extensive
damage, including 36th
Street between 30th Avenue
and 31st Avenue in Astoria.
Three large trees lay flat on
the street after the storm,
wrecking several parked
cars. On Manton Street and
139th Street in Briarwood —
blocks from where a fallen
tree killed a man — a massive
tree fell, hitting several
cars upon its landing.
“I came downstairs and
just my car underneath the
tree,” said Natalie Prisco,
who lives on Manton Street.
“I don’t think anybody got
hurt, I just saw everyone
staring at something and
then I came out and saw the
tree and I was like, ‘Oh, god,
I hope it’s not my car,’ and it
was my car.”
Syed Huda, Prisco’s boyfriend,
came to visit Prisco
after the storm and said the
damage will cost her well
over $1,000.
“When I drove in, I saw
trees down everywhere,”
Huda said.
By 6 p.m. on Tuesday,
the storm had passed and
the sun had come out in Astoria
Park. Some local residents
flocked to the park to
assess the damage, while
others came to enjoy the
open space as if nothing had
happened at all.
While the Parks Department
said the work to clear
branches and fallen trees is
in progress, because of the
high volume of requests,
they can’t provide specific
times as to when trees will
be cleared.
“Due to the high volume
of inspections and work
currently in progress, we
are not able to provide information
on specific work.
We are unable to provide
timetables for individual
non-emergency removals at
this time,” a spokesperson
for the department said.
“Emergencies and impassible
streets receive the
highest priority. Debris will
be addressed accordingly:
high-traffic areas, including
plazas, playgrounds,
athletic facilities, etc., perimeter
sidewalks, internal
paths, lawns, then natural
areas.”
With approximately
9,317 reports of downed
trees, Queens had by far
the most tree damage when
compared with the other
four boroughs. In Brooklyn,
5,761 reports were made; in
Staten Island there were
2,151 reports made; in the
Bronx, 2,148 reports were
made; and in Manhattan
there were 1,205 reports of
tree damage, according to
the Parks Department.
Left in the dark
Queens also experience
more power outages than
any other borough in the
city, with over 45,000 Con
Edison customers left without
power by Wednesday afternoon.
The storm brought
with it the second most
outages in the company’s
history — only Hurricane
Sandy caused more outages
citywide.
Cambria Heights, Whitestone,
Middle Village and
Flushing all saw widespread
outages, although
customers throughout the
borough were left without
power after the storm.
More than 22,000 customers
were left without power
in the Bronx; over 20,000
customers were left without
power in Staten Island;
8,000 customers were left
without power in Brooklyn;
and in Manhattan, where
power lines are underground,
67 customers were
without power Wednesday
afternoon.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
slammed the power provider
for the massive outages
and announced that his
office has launched an investigation
into how power
companies operating across
the state handled the storm,
including Verizon, PSEG
Long Island, Con Edison,
Central Hudson Gas &
Electric, Orange and Rockland
Utilities, and New York
State Electric & Gas.
“We know that severe