What would bring a city parks and rec crew out into the cold — and Anthony Figueroa (pictured) in a cherry-picker — in Tuesday’s freezing cold? An old tree and a smashed windshield on Central Avenue.
The crew arrived at the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Willard Street in Westville around 1 p.m. Tuesday after a report of a falling tree.
It appears that part of an old maple in front of a house at the corner had snapped in the wind and landed on a white Toyota, crashing into the windshield, according to city Arborist Fernando Lage. Fortunately, no one was in the car; its occupants were inside the house checking on an elderly resident. Lage said the tree, too, was elderly, between 70 and 80 years old.
The city crew finished off the job while police blocked off the street.
Click on the play arrow below to watch Figueroa take his blade to some of the branches. (Warning: It’s loud!)
The incident occurred right around the corner from two other dying or already-dead sugar maples marked for removal. A neighbor recently asked the parks commission to save the two trees. The city agreed to try to save the second tree if possible. But Lage said Tuesday, as he watched the clean-up of a near-miss that could have hurt or even killed someone, that second tree appears too far gone for preservation, too.