Bed-Stuy residents call for removal of overgrown trees damaging homes

"

Residents on Monroe Street are sounding alarm on overgrown trees on Monroe Street in the Stuyvesant Gardens area. Trees in the backyard behind a row of homes can be seen scraping windows, hanging over homes with branches tangled up on the electrical wiring for the units power and internet services. "I'm very worried that it will fall and cause more damage not just to the roof but break window or allow more water into the basement, said property owner Kim Willaims-Jones. Willaims-Jones tells News 12 the branches allow excess water to pool on the roof, creating structural problems for the unit, while the roots from the trees frequently disrupt waterlines causing flooding issues. "I have been here for 20 years, and we have been complaining for 10 about these issues," she says, adding she has gone out of pocket to repair gutters, window fixtures and the roof to the tune of thousands of dollars. She says she cannot absorb more cost before those prices are passed on to tenants, something she hopes to avoid and is calling for the city to step in. "Cleaning this up now will be much cheaper than if these fall and the wires here go down," she said. Other residents say they worry the branches could injure those below if they fall, showing News 12 multiple copies of 311 complaints sent to the NYC Parks and NYCHA to ask for their removal. "They will fall and hurt someone, and these trees damage the top floors of the property every year, I've had to replace gutters four times in five years," said neighboring property owner Lashanda Young-Innis. News 12 reached out to NYCHA and NYC Parks for comment and did not hear back. "