Hurricane Irene blew into Woodhaven this weekend and before she left, hundreds of branches were ripped from trees -- and more than a few large trees were ripped from the ground.  We only heard of one report of power going out -- so, overall, Woodhaven got off easy.  But try telling that to some of the people effected by the incidents below --

We saw a ton of this all over Woodhaven as we drove around -- small to medium sized branches.  In most cases, it appeared that someone had dragged the branches aside.  The WRBA now has over 60 Block Captains in Woodhaven and they did a great job reporting damage -- click here for a complete listing of damage that was reported.  Our Block Captains not only filed reports, they sent in pictures of the damage, such as this one of a tree down on 95th Street:

The residents of 95th Street cleared away this tree themselves.  Here's another picture sent in by a reader of his uncle taking a chainsaw to the tree:

Of course, it should be noted that such work is risky -- be very careful when clearing away debris --be very mindful of the possibility of fallen wires that are live and lethal.  Here is that same tree after it had been cut up enough to allow vehicles to pass.  Nice work, people!

Some additional scenes from 95th Street -- it appears that one tree snapped off at ground level, toppled across the street, taking off a large branch from a tree across the street.

Trees are ripped out of the ground with such violent force -- you really have to respect the force of Mother Nature.

Here's a short video we took as we drove around Woodhaven -- you'll see a lot of damage but you'll also recognize that it could have been much worse --

Here's a large tree down at the Forest Park Co-Ops --

This tree was ripped out at the roots -- all the rain made many of the trees top-heavy -- below is a reason why it's good to be indoors during a storm -- anyone out walking their dog when this tree fell would have gotten a serious knock on the noggin. 

Here's something dangerous -- look at how that jagged edge is jutting out into traffic.  Luckily, the Parks Department was out in force and were aware of it.

Here's a dangerous condition on 84th Street -- there was a fallen tree -- look at how the utility pole is about to topple --

This has a chain reaction -- and down by Whiting Square a pole is leaning badly and wires are hanging -- this area was blocked off and an emergency unit was securing the area -- 

Throughout the neighborhood, streets were cordoned off for safety.  All of the incidents you see on this page have been reported -- and they have been passed along to our elected officials.  By the way, our elected officials did a great job of reaching out to Woodhaven.  We communicated throughout the day with Assemblyman Mike Miller and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley.  And despite the fact that they were overseeing an evacuation and major flooding, we also heard from Sen. Joe Addabbo and Councilman Eric Ulrich.   

This tree came down along Woodhaven Boulevard, forcing pedestrians out into the street --

Wow, look at this one -- ripped out at the roots at 94th Street --

How many decades did this tree sit there?  How many times did kids chase each other around it?  It's sad to see a tree like this --

On Woodhaven Boulevard there were rescue trucks and it quickly became apparent why --the garage is destroyed.  Amazingly, the car inside the garage was pretty much untouched.

A closer look at the garage -- or what's left of it --

Over on 89th Street, 0ff 89th Avenue, a tree branch came down and blocked the street --

Closer inspection revealed the damage it did --

Again -- thanks to our Block Captains -- and if your block does not have a Captain, please consider signing up!  Basically, we need your e-mail address and a phone number we can reach you at.  In the event of an emergency -- like Hurricane Irene -- we send out an alert and the Block Captains tell us the conditions on their block.  You serve anonymously -- your name is not posted anywhere, and you will not have neighbors knocking on your door with issues or complaints.  If your block does not have a captain, e-mail the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association at info@woodhaven-nyc.org. Here is the most recent map of Woodhaven -- blocks in red already have Block Captains -- does yours?

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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Photos by Joey Wendell