Neighbors were buzzing around an area blocked off with yellow caution tape early Sunday morning after a tree crashed down on East Sixth Street between Avenues A and B.
Roberto Perez, who lives on the street, said he had heard a loud noise around 4 a.m. and immediately got up from bed to investigate. “I wasn’t scared, but I saw through my window a big tree laying there.” The tree, which was labeled as a Japanese Pagoda, cracked the windshield of a car.
At about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Norman Cook, a supervisor with the Parks & Recreation Department, pulled up in a truck to assess the damage. He said that around 8 a.m., his department had been notified of a 311 call about the incident. At about 10 a.m., workers in two orange trucks with cranes pulled up to chop up the tree and remove the debris. The street was closed off at one point. Police and the FDNY were also present.
“Unfortunately, this is just nature taking its course. We’ll get it cleaned up,” said Mr. Cook.
Brian Fox, 34, who lives on the street and was out surveying the damage with his father, said he considered himself fortunate. “I got a rental car, and the tree just missed it,” he said, pointing to the car that was parked only a few feet from the fallen tree. “I feel lucky.”
Another resident of the street, Bob Tashjian, 66, said he suffered a series of unfortunate events this weekend (“I lost my tooth,” he said), but also felt lucky. “I almost parked here last night!”
Workers finished the job at 1 p.m.