Queens woman says she complained about tree on city property for years before it fell onto her house in storm
NEW YORK -- The storm that hammered the Tri-State Area caused significant damage across the five boroughs, including several trees falling onto homes.
CBS New York spoke to homeowners in Whitestone, Queens, who got quite the scare Monday morning.
"It was 5:30. I was sleeping, and I heard the big noise, and I thought some part of the house collapsed," Catherine Papapaelos said.
Papapaelos was startled awake when a tree toppled onto her front porch and her neighbor's car.
"The house has some damages, but it did not come into the house. We were very lucky," Papapaelos said.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, but Papapaelos said she had been complaining about the tree on city property for years.
"We've been calling so many times for the street, and tell them the tree is not a good. They said, 'Don't worry,'" Papapaelos said, adding she called 311 last year. "I told them the tree doesn't look so great. They said, 'Ah, no, the tree is perfect ... good condition.'"
A neighbor said he has also been trying to get authorities to inspect the trees in front of his home.
"I've made multiple calls down the street to we've got trees that are sick and die and the city doesn't want to take care of them," he said.
Down the block, a resident said the heavy rain came in through the chimney.
"The water went through the fireplace," she said.
The wind was so strong, it knocked down her Christmas decorations. Even Santa suffered a serious headache.
"I just woke up and I was like, 'Oh my god, Santa lost his head,'" she said.
Meanwhile, over in Aburndale, a tree collapsed, kicking down a fence and narrowly missing several cars.
Several major roadways were flooded, including the Cross Island Parkway, where cars had to be towed away, and there was also some serious flooding on the FDR Drive near Bellevue Hospital.
Citywide, more than 10,000 customers lost power.
Officials say if a city-owned tree falls on your property, call 311, but if it brings down powerlines or there's an emergency, call 911. They are asking for patience as they try to get through all of the storm-related requests.
Click here for the latest First Alert Forecast and weather alerts.
