Look Up: Watch Out for Dangerous Trees Ready to Fall

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All around Ditmas Park, there are neighbors who still have trees resting on their roofs, trees are leaning against other trees, branches are dangling precariously, and sidewalks are destroyed in places by upturned trees whose stumps still remain. Many of these issues need to be addresses as soon as possible, and especially before the next storm, due Wednesday.

We’ve updated our Sandy damage map to include the dangerous areas as red push pins. If you spot any more dangerous areas around the neighborhood (trees or anything else), you can continue to send us info and photos at ditmasparkcorner@gmail.com or you can enter the information directly on the map, located here.

It’s the city’s responsibility to remove dangerous street trees. You should immediately report them to 311. The forestry service is currently overwhelmed with thousands of requests and are prioritizing as best they can. Still, we have some enormous trees that look like they’re on the brink of collapse. What’s going to happen when this week’s storm hits?

Once you call 311, you should receive a number that allows you to check back in on the status of the report.

If you spot any dangerous trees, email us at ditmasparkcorner@gmail.com or update the map, located here. The least we can do is warn neighbors about where they need to keep an eye out for possible falling debris.

You can request trees fallen in public spaces to be removed here. The city put out a notice saying:

During the storm emergency, the Parks Department is prioritizing only service requests for storm related tree damage. To report a tree issue, please call 311 or text 311-692, or submit an online forestry service request. Please be patient as we are experiencing extremely high call volumes, and you may experience intermittent delays with the online request form also due to extremely high volume.

Call your insurance company on how to proceed with tree removal. They may need to send out an adjustor. They may have authorized companies capable of removing the tree without inflicting more damage. And of course, take pictures to document the damage.

Trees aren’t the only danger. From over on Beverley Road and Ocean Parkway, we just got this picture from Michael Milch of a damaged elevator. Whether or not it will survive the storm if left unfixed is anyone’s guess. It’s been reported to 311, but they have not responded.