Thursday, March 18, 2010

Tree Totals Car in Howard Beach


By Olivia Dibs

Despite the damage done to their car, the Clancy’s of Howard Beach are thankful that no family members were anywhere near the vehicle they had parked just minutes before a tree came crashing down on it outside their home on 100th Street off 156th Avenue.

Helen, Jerry and Jennifer Clancy had been at a party and arrived home about 8 p.m. They settled in to watch TV in the living room and shortly after heard a crashing sound from outside. “Our neighbor rang the bell and said ‘I think we have trouble,’ said Helen Clancy. One glance outside the open door led to the shocking discovery. The tree in front of the Clancy house had been uprooted by the fierce winds, taking four cement flags off the sidewalk with it, crushing the rear end of Jennifer Clancy’s car.

“My daughter just parked the car five minutes before [the tree fell], so I just thank God she wasn’t in the car,” said Helen Clancy. Although the car has been totaled, she’s keeping a positive attitude about the situation. “It’s just a car, and the tree fell on the car, not the house. And nobody got hurt.”

Residents on the block were frustrated with the closure of their street but the Parks Department was unable to take immediate action to remove the toppled tree because of the electrical wires tangled in the branches.

Helen Clancy maintains that everyone she has dealt with at both the Parks Department and Con Edison has been “very helpful.” “I don’t know how helpful the city is going to be as far as the cement work in front of the house, but everyone’s ok and with a little help, this will all be over soon.”

No comments: