A towering red oak tree toppled by Superstorm Sandy took out at a ’96 Camaro, a Jeep SUV and a station wagon — not to mention a chunk of the outer wall at a two-family house at 107 Howard Ave. Monday night.
Now the residents in the damaged duplex are worried a second rotting tree in a neighbor’s property might fall, too.
“If you go and touch the base of that tree, it’s like a sponge,” said resident John Landry.
Two families live in the duplex. The Landrys — John, his wife, Deb, and their 3‑year-old son — live in one unit. Christine Nixon, her husband and their two daughters live in the other unit.
The tree that came down was from a property next door to the duplex. The neighbor’s home was abandoned and is in foreclosure, Landry and Nixon said.
They don’t know who to contact to get the remaining oak taken down.
“I don’t know if it’s the bank, or if FEMA can do anything, I just don’t know. Someone’s going to get hurt,” Christine Nixon said. “A tree guy said that other tree is just as bad. It’s Styrofoam inside.”
They’re especially concerned because children on their way to Ansonia Middle School use the sidewalk under the tree that is still standing.
A Tree Falls On Howard Street
On Monday afternoon, as the first powerful winds from Superstorm Sandy were felt in the area, Nixon was standing at her door staring at the neighbor’s oak, which stood about 85 feet tall.
“That thing is going to fall,” she thought to herself.
It wasn’t a new thought.
“I’ve been living here for 20 years and we worried about that tree falling during every storm,” she said.
And, at about 6:30 p.m. — boom.
Luckily, no one was injured.
Nixon showed the Valley Indy cell phone pics of what the tree did to her daughter’s bedroom on the second floor. The tree tore the window and its frame from the home. Nixon’s daughter would have been seriously injured — at the least — had she been upstairs in her bed, which sat against the badly damaged wall.
“Her room is full of glass. It’s a mess,” Nixon said.
Click they play button below to see a slideshow of photos from the home. Article continues after the photo gallery.
The tree also tore off the structure’s front steps — and flattened Landry’s white 1996 Camaro.
The two families have been staying in hotels as per their respective homeowner’s insurance policies — but the hotel stays are running out.
The family was extremely grateful to the first responders and neighbors who helped them immediately after the tree fell.
Landry, who previously owned Luther’s Garage in Shelton, shrugged off the damage. Nixon wasn’t daunted by the insurance documents she’ll have to fill out and file.
“We’re all alive,” Landry said.
“Yup, we’re all alive,” Nixon said.
