City Pledges to Nurture Sapling Grown from Acorn of Fallen Centuries-old Oak Tree by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

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A centuries-old Queens tree, struck down in last month's violent storm, is getting a second chance at life.

City Parks Department officials pledged to nurture a sapling believed to have grown from the acorns of a massive red oak that stood sentry at the intersection of 112th St. and 84th Ave.

The tree, known by several names, including "Robin Hood," "The Grandfather" and "The Castle," captured the hearts and imaginations of its Richmond Hill neighbors for decades.

"The kids used to think it was magical," said Helen Day, 57, who has lived in a house across the street from the tree for 30 years. "My daughter always called it 'The Castle.'"

Day noted that the tree - which once stood almost 100-feet high - did minimal damage when it toppled over on Sept. 16.

"It just sort of plopped into the yard without hitting a person, a house or a car," said Day. "It fell in the best way possible."

Neighbor Clark Whitsett, who lives with his wife and three young children in a house near the tree, got the ear of city workers during the storm cleanup. He showed them the skinny sapling and they told him it was from the same tree.

"It's nice that this tree will have a chance," said Whitsett, a 33-year-old lawyer. "I've tried to take care of it."

Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said the sapling will be moved to the department's greenhouse for special care.

"We are always saddened to lose one of our trees, especially a venerable one so loved by the community," said Lewandowski. "Eventually, the new tree will be replanted in the neighborhood or in a park for all to enjoy."

Ivan Mrakovcic, chairman of Community Board 9 who lives in Richmond Hill, said the neighborhood is "devastated" by the loss of the tree.

"I love the idea of carrying on its gene pool," he said.

But not all the people who lived in the shadow of the green giant were fans.

For 65 years, Marie Russo and her family lived in a home next to the tree, before moving out last year.

Her husband tried unsuccessfully to have the tree removed, worried that it would fall onto their property.

"During a heavy storm, you look at it and kind of pray 'Don't come down today, please,'" said Russo, 85, who lives with her daughter Bridget Curran.

At one point, it was slated for removal. But, Russo said, local activists persuaded the city to leave it alone.

"My dad always worried it was an accident waiting to happen," Curran said.

You're Invited to Congressman Weiner's Town Hall on Post-Tornado Clean-Up in Queens - Tuesday, September 21st at 6:30pm...

What: Town Hall Meeting on Post-Tornado Clean-Up in Queens with

New York City Office of Emergency Management

When: Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 6:30pm

Where: Forest Hills Jewish Center

106-06 Queens Boulevard - Forest Hills, New York

Enter on 69th Road

Sponsored By:

Congressman Anthony Weiner

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky
Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi

Questions? Call Congressman Weiner’s community office at 718-520-9001.

Devastation from Tornado in Forest Hills and Middle Village...

I was traveling to North Shore Forest Hills Hospital last Thursday during the tornado and micro-burst that hit Middle Village and Forest Hills hard...It took about 1 hr and 45 mins to get to the hospital and about 2.5 hours to get home to Ozone Park...Trees and power-lines were down everywhere...

Click here to view these pictures larger

Here's a video taken during the storm by a friend, Alex Maureau...




Some stuff from the tornado in Queens New York City on September 16, 2010. It came out of nowhere. Missed some of the action due to trying to get the darn camera ready to record but caught a power pole near my neighbors house sparking. Trees down all over my area and the power went out momentarily.

Video filmed by Alex Maureau

This is a collection of photos from the aftermath of the Middle Village, Glendale Queens tornado that came roaring through in the evening rush hour on September 16, 2010. Thousands were without power and many, many more are still dealing with downed trees and other damage to their homes.

All photos taken and slideshow designed by Alex Maureau.

This is a collection of photos from the aftermath of the Middle Village, Glendale Queens tornado that came roaring through in the evening rush hour on September 16, 2010.

All photos taken and slideshow designed by Alex Maureau.




This is a collection of photos from the aftermath of the Forest Hills, Rego Park Queens tornado that came roaring through in the evening rush hour on September 16, 2010.

All photos taken and slideshow designed by Alex Maureau.

National Weather Service Confirms Tornadoes, Microburst Hit New York City » WireUpdate Local | Local Breaking News | Local Breaking Wire -

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The National Weather Service on late Friday confirmed that two tornadoes touched down in New York City during a powerful storm that caused widespread damage on Thursday, killing one person and injuring others.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said one of the tornadoes touched down near Park Slope in Brooklyn with maximum wind speeds around 80 miles (129 kilometers) per hour. "The tornado touched down in Park Slope and lifted 2 miles [northeast] of Park Slope," the agency said.

The second tornado touched down about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) south of Flushing in Queens and lifted about one mile (1.6 kilometer) northeast of Bayside. This tornado was slightly stronger with maximum wind speeds of around 100 miles (161 kilometers) per hour.

A woman, identified as Iline Leuakis, was killed when a tree crashed into her car on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens as the tornado hit. "The severity of the storm may have caught us by surprise, but New Yorkers are a resilient people and we will get through this ordeal together," said New York Governor David Paterson.

In addition to the two tornadoes, a microburst hit near Middle Village in Queens. "The path of the microburst was from Middle Village to Forest Hills," the NWS said.

"A microburst is a convective downdraft with an affected outflow area of less than 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide and peak winds lasting less than 5 minutes," the agency explained. "Microbursts may induce dangerous horizontal/vertical wind shears which can adversely affect aircraft performance and cause property damage."

The powerful storm left more than 30,000 people - most of them in Queens and Staten island - without power. "This is one of those things that while it may be an act of God it doesn't make it any easier for us," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg as he surveyed storm damage on Thursday. "People are concerned, they have every right to be concerned. The good news is that most people were safe, just annoyed – traffic being bad or a tree coming down in their yard."

Paterson said he requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide teams of federal inspectors to determine the extent of damage in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. "As part of the federal disaster process, both the individual boroughs and the State must reach a threshold of damage before any federal assistance can be requested," he added.

Tornadoes are extremely rare in New York City, and Thursday's tornadoes were the first time one record that a tornado caused a fatality in the city. The last time a tornado hit New York City was in July, when a weak tornado swirled through the Bronx.

Prior to that, two tornadoes touched down in Staten Island and Brooklyn on August 8, 2007. Other tornadoes touched down in 2003, 1995, 1990, 1985 and 1974. No other tornadoes were recorded since records began in 1950.

Tornadoes in the City: They Hit, but Rarely by James Barron- City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

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The Bronx isn’t Kansas, but yes, Dorothy, that was a tornado that sent trees flying and utility poles crashing on Sunday afternoon. The National Weather Service says the twister churned through a half-mile slice of Riverdale with winds of 100 miles an hour for 10 minutes.

By Tuesday, the weather historians were poring over the record books. Seven tornadoes have been confirmed in New York City since 1974. There were none in the city in the 24 years before that, according to the Weather Service’s list of tornadoes since 1950 in the territory from Long Island to Orange and Putnam Counties.

The 1974 storm ripped through the Bronx on Sept. 2, 1974, when Abraham D. Beame was in his eighth month as mayor and Gerald R. Ford was in his first full month as president.

“Tornadoes are rare here,” said John Murray, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. “This is not the central plains, where you often have the dynamics to get the threat for tornadoes going.”

But sometimes they do.


On Aug. 8, 2007, a tornado touched down on Staten Island and whipped southwestern Brooklyn with winds of up to 135 miles an hour. The tornado struck just before the morning rush, tearing roofs off houses and yanking trees out of the ground. In other parts of the city, heavy rain paralyzed the transit system. “No trains at this time: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, N, R, S, Q, W, V, F, L, J, 7 to Queens,” a hand-lettered sign at Pennsylvania Station read.

Four years earlier, a tornado ripped through the Bulls Head section of Staten Island on Oct. 29, 2003. Tony Garcia, an engineer who lived through it, said he was “freaking out.”

“To me,” Mr. Garcia said, “it sounded like an 18-wheeler that just came off the highway and hit the guardrails.”

That was a distinctly modern description. Back when headlines were built like overstuffed club sandwiches, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle honored the twister that sewed destruction across South Brooklyn on Jan. 9, 1889, thusly:

FIRE & WIND
South Brooklyn Treated to a Brilliant Display.
Why Some of the Residents of That Section of the City Thought that the End of the World Had Come — The Ravages of the Tornado — Blazing gas and Shattered Tanks — The Navy Yard Barracks Decapitated — A Memorable Night.

A few years later, in July 1895, when a tornado devastated Woodhaven, Queens, The New York Times called it “the breath of an awful giant.”
T.C. Levrat, who had been standing in the doorway of a barber shop, said the sky had darkened rapidly over Woodhaven as the wind picked up. “In the northwest there was a very black conical-shaped cloud,” he said. “It seemed to whirl round and round until it met a dense bank of black clouds coming from the east. Then the hail began to fall.”

He said he was thrown back against the door of the barber shop as the air filled with “all sorts of things — pieces of buildings, parts of trees, bricks, tile chimneys and I don’t know what else.”

“In less than three minutes,” he said, “it was all over, and the sun was shining brightly again.”

One person was killed, a 17-year-old woman named Louis Pirtraquer, also identified as Louise Pirtaguin, at her house on Rockaway Avenue. The Times said she was struck by a beam from a nearby school that had gone flying. The school’s tin roof was also ripped off, and the belfry atop the four-story building was shoved down into the third story.

The school commissioner. W.J. Bulkley, said local residents had recently voted to spend $25,000 to add four stories to the building. “I was to award the contract tonight,” he said.