Queens flooding: Cleanup continues after heavy rain, frustrated residents say "the city has to do something about this"
NEW YORK - Monday afternoon might be sunny in some parts of our area, but that was not the case this weekend.
Mother Nature dumped a significant amount of water all over the Tri-State Area, and New York City got hit hard.
Cell phone video captured the seconds after a massive tree came toppling down in Queens Village Sunday night. The tree's roots lifted up and pulled a part of the sidewalk with it.
Neighbors say the tree fell into an empty street by the corner of Hollis Court Boulevard and Hillside Avenue. No one was injured, but it was blocking traffic until crews took a chainsaw to it and moved the debris to the side of the road.
"It was raining. Heavy, heavy rain, and along with the strong winds, with that, it fell down," Queens Village resident Zuber Pardiwala said. "It's a busy road, but because of the stormy weather, it was empty at night."
Yikes! As the sun comes up in Queens, @JohnBDias is getting a clearer look at a tree that came down during the storm. https://t.co/26Z7ywyCaR pic.twitter.com/xfSewdoyof
— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) May 1, 2023
The tree is just one example of the mess Mother Nature left behind after this weekend's wicked weather. From stranded cars to flooded homes, people across Queens were dealing with a lot of frustrating conditions.
In Woodside, homeowners shared video from 48th Avenue and 65th street and said they're fed up with flooding.
"It was really terrible. The water is up to my, like, knee," Woodside resident Saad Radi said.
In 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida caused major property damage in the neighborhood, and homeowners say the area has flooded several times since - including Sunday.
"The city has to do something about this. Without the city's help, we can't be helped," Radi said.
The stormy weekend also impacted the rest of New York City, including bringing flooding in the Bronx.
There's still no word yet on when the rest of the downed tree will be cleaned up.