City Housing Worker Killed By Falling Tree In East New York

EAST NEW YORK, NY — A New York City Housing Authority worker was killed Saturday when a tree fell on top of him as he walked through a parking lot in Brooklyn during a powerful storm, NBC New York reported.

The tree appeared to split in half, with the top branches toppling over onto a sidewalk and the Cypress Hills Playground at 700 Euclid Avenue by NYCHA Cypress Hills Houses.

The 56-year-old man who was struck was taken to One Brooklyn Health-Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where he died, NBC New York reported.

His name had not been released, and it was unclear whether he was on duty. His death is the area's first reported fatality triggered by the lashing winds and downpours of a powerful nor’easter.

The Parks Department said it had received 979 service requests for damaged or fallen trees as of 6 p.m. Saturday, including 356 reports of downed trees, according to NBC New York.

City staffers are working 12-hour shifts to field the calls.
The city asked residents to report hazardous trees through its Parks website, the NYC Tree Map or 311.

Tens of millions of people were in the path of the nor'easter, which was forecast to affect the mid-Atlantic area and New England throughout the weekend. Electricity was knocked out to about 100,000 customers in the region at one point.

The forecast showed no immediate reprieve. There will be “a lot of high winds, a lot of high tides and heavy rain possibility over the next few days for the northeastern U.S.,” said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

Click here for the full NBC New York report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.