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BAY RIDGE: Revenge of the trees!

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See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

If the city doesn’t take care if its dead tree problem, then the dead trees are going to take care us, say Bay Ridge residents.

Following an article in this paper about the salty plague super storm Sandy wrought upon Brooklyn’s trees, Bay Ridge residents have phoned the newsroom with stories of once-healthy, now-dead trees that are falling or threatening to fall along streets, in parks — and worse, on the Belt Parkway.

They’re concerned that if the city doesn’t take down the ailing furs and pines, they’ll come down on their own, with potentially disastrous results. Worried locals say they’ve alerted the city repeatedly to the threat — to no avail.

“I’ve called 311 several times,” said Cynthia Stonbely, whose Shore Road terrace overlooks the Belt. “Nobody ever comes down.”

The Parks Department did not return calls for comment by press time.

Stonbely says she hasn’t seen any city foresters chopping down the dead trees in the Shore Roads Park near her house, where dozens of dead, saltwater-logged trees loom over the west-bound lane of the Belt Parkway, threatening to topple over onto the thoroughfare at any moment. One of arboreal zombies has already caused havoc on the Belt several weeks ago when it fell across the major traffic artery during the morning rush.

Fortunately, there were no wrecks in that instance, only a major backup as city workers hustled to clear the tree-clogged lanes, but the Bay Ridge resident says there are still plenty of trees just waiting to elicit shouts of “timber,” and she’s not taking any chances.

“I won’t don’t drive in the right-hand lane,” said Stonbely. “I’m afraid the trees are going to fall.”

And motorists on the Belt aren’t the only ones who should be wary of falling wood.

Locals say grannies, nannies, and infants strolling through the park could be the first victims of the dead trees’ revenge, as many of the storm-ravaged branches of the neglected, ailing plants appear poised to snap.

“I called 311 a couple of times about the trees,” said Joyce Ayoub, who also lives near the park in a Shore Road apartment. “There’s a lot of grandmas and nannies with strollers, and I don’t think they’re aware of the danger.”

“It’s scary,” she added.

Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.

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