A tree falls in Brooklyn (and everywhere else)

By Michael Orbach

“Snowpocalypse, shmopocalypse” was the faux-Yiddishism of the week as a nor’easter of seemingly biblical proportion drenched the tri-state area, causing widespread flooding and uprooting trees that blocked streets and fell on power lines, houses and cars.

More than 250,000 utility customers on Long Island lost power over the weekend according to the Long Island Power Authority, with 30,000 still in the dark three days later. 167,000 customers lost power in New York City, 35,000 of them in Brooklyn alone.

9-1-1 operators in New York City and Nassau County were overwhelmed by requests for help. In some instances in New York City, Hatzalah was dispatching members directly to firehouses to request FDNY assistance, according to Yeshiva World News. In general, government was caught relatively unprepared for the ferocity of the storm, which dumped more than a half a foot of rain in some places.

“It looked like World War Three,” recalled Lt. Danny Gluck, commanding officer of the 4th Precinct Auxiliary, police volunteers who serve the Five Towns area, and who were out all Saturday night. “We had eight officers and five patrol cars out till the wee hours of the morning,” Gluck said.

Despite police tape and flares, eight cars managed to crash into the same downed tree on Central Avenue.

“People don’t listen. Everybody wants to be the hero when they’re not trained for situations like that,” Luck explained. “When I was driving I’m almost looking up to make sure the trees aren’t aren’t falling down.”

Chief John McHugh, second assistant chief of the Lawrence Cedarhurst Fire Department, said his members answered 70 calls between Saturday night and Sunday.

“It was all dangerous,” he explained. “These trees are huge and hanging unsupported, [and] you’re standing in water.”

The storms after-effects were still continuing on Tuesday, McHugh said.

“We had a call yesterday at 12 noon at the Bay Harbour Mall. Pieces of metal from the roof severed a gas line. We couldn’t shut the gas off and we had to evacuate the mall.”

4th Precinct Administrative Sergeant Leslie Moulds said the storm was an “equal opportunity offender,” and each town was recovering from damage. On Tuesday afternoon, Moulds said that six major streets in the district were still closed.

Despite the power failures there was no increase in crime, she said. Moulds said she’s looking forward to a quiet weekend.

“It’s safe to say we all are,” she explained.

Moulds also recommended that people who rely on supplemental oxygen at home look into investing in a private generator.

“You can’t foresee this type of thing,” she said. “It’s a worthy investment.”

Many homeowners now face questions about insurance coverage of the damage caused by the storm.

Andy Mais, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Insurance, differentiated between whether a tree hits your property or a neighbor’s.

“If a tree falls on your house and it’s your neighbor’s tree you’re responsible, since it’s an act of G-d,” he said. “But if it’s a dead tree then it’s negligence. If the tree came down on the house, the insurance company will pay for the removal of the tree. But if the tree just came down is your backyard, there’s no coverage.”

Given that winds exceeded 70 mph - a gust of 74 mph, just under hurricane strength, was reported at John F. Kennedy International Airport — it wasn’t too surprising that trees fell.

“I don’t think anything could withstand a direct hit from that kind of wind,” said Bob Sympson, president of the East Rockaway tree advisory board. “Any kind of tree could come down.”

Sympson said that many of the trees that fell in the area were tall, old pine and spruce trees whose roots did not have a chance to grow properly.

“For the most part, tree roots do not grow down, they grow outward,” he said.

“That’s why so many curbside trees fell - their roots had not been able to spread because they were planted near paved streets and cement. Trees in yards have enough anchor in the ground ... their roots can spread 50, 60 or 70 feet - not so with the trees by the street.”

Sympson also attributed the toppling trees to their size, the wet, soft ground, and the way the wind was blowing. “And, the taller the tree, the faster they come down,” he said.

While the damage wreaked by the storm was severe everywhere in the area, Teaneck got the worst of it. A falling branch killed two men, Ovadia Mussaffi and Lawrence Krause, as they walked home from a shul there on Motza’ei Shabbat.

“I am happy that there were no serious injuries. I grieve with the families who had injuries and losses. Especially, with the Teaneck community and the families there,” said Rabbi Herschel Billet of the Young Israel of Woodmere. He too had no power in his home on Tuesday.

For some local residents, the storm had unintended pleasant consequences.

Esther Max ended up taking in two families that live on Lotus Avenue in Woodmere, which was hit particularly hard by the storm. The two families moved in on Motza’ei Shabbat and she expected them to stay until Friday.

She enjoyed having what she called the “extended family” in, she said.

“We love it, we’re having a lot of fun. [It’s] one big sleep away camp,” she explained.

Ever since two trees fell in his back yard, Avi Fertig of Woodmere began thinking about taking up a new hobby. He found someone to chop them up, but felt the asking price was very steep. Late Sunday morning, he bought himself a chainsaw.

On Monday afternoon it was still sitting in his garage, unopened.

“I’m waiting to get the nerve to use it,” he said.

Rabbi Yaakov Feitman of Kehillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi lost his power at 4:30 Shabbat afternoon. As of Tuesday afternoon he and his family were still staying at a neighbor’s house. He said he’s learned a lesson from the experience.

“Appreciate what we have. I’ve spoken to so many people, you look at your bed, your couch and chairs, your books and you don’t appreciate them. All of a sudden you’re out of your house. We’re hoping to come back and look at things differently with new eyes and a new appreciation,” Rabbi Feitman said.

Moreover, the lesson from the move was especially important given that Pesach is in two weeks.

“We only we went down the block, but we felt like the Jews going into exile. We commiserated with them,” he said. “It’s something to experience.”

Additional reporting by Mary Malloy