Massive tree falls on home in Queens, no injuries reported
NEW YORK -- Gusty winds may be to blame for a massive tree falling onto a multi-family home in Queens on Sunday afternoon.
The tree was uprooted and fell right onto the house in Jamaica.
"My mother, many times, has reported this tree because of fear this would happen one day and, unfortunately, today was the day," Giovanni Lozada said.
.@redcrossny is on the scene in Jamaica registering displaced residents at 185th Street & Jamaica Ave. in Queens after a large tree fell. Please avoid the area to allow crews to operate. Wind Advisory for the entire city extended by the NWS until 10PM. pic.twitter.com/mQ4Sr4Oyka
— NYC Emergency Management (@nycemergencymgt) January 14, 2024
On Sunday, that nightmare became a reality. The tree toppled onto the multi-family home on 185th Street near Jamaica Avenue. Lozada was on the second floor so close to where it came crashing down.
"It sounded like a big crash. I take care of my aunt whose 99 years old. I thought she had fell or something," Lozada said.
She was startled but not surprised to see the tree uprooted, sentiments shared by the other long-time residents of the home.
"It's nothing new for us because we always complain about the tree. We always tell them something is gonna happen, but they never took it seriously," Vinita Singh said.
The residents said they've been calling 311 for years. There's an open complaint on the city's website from December. CBS New York asked the city about it and is still waiting to hear back.
A neighbor took photos hours before the tree fell, worried about the wind.
"This is a very old tree. You can see, when the wind is blowing, you can see how it's going back and forth," Singh said.
It wasn't the only area of concern with Sunday's weather. In Bayside, there was a partial sidewalk shed collapse at the site of a two-story new building construction project at 38th Avenue near Bell Boulevard, damaging several parked cars. Justin Colon was in the store across the street.
"That's a very unstable structure," Colon said. "It just sounded like a bomb went off in the back. When we looked out the window, all the cars were buried."
The Department of Buildings said it issued a partial stop work order and a violation to the contractor. The DOB also had a team at the home in Jamaica, where the Red Cross was also present to help the impacted families.
When asked what she would say to the city now, Lozada said, "Luckily, it wasn't worse. That's what I'm glad [for]. I'm glad it didn't take out the whole house because it had that possibility."
The residents in Jamaica said they feel fortunate everyone was okay.
Thankfully, nobody was hurt in either incident.