Community Corner

PHOTOS: Sandy's Wrath on Bed-Stuy

A torrid affair

She came and left Bed-Stuy Monday like a thief in the night.

Although much ado was made about Hurricane Sandy's potential severity, for many residents tucked away safely inside their homes, the storm appeared mild-mannered.

"I could hear that wind whipping around strong last night; it scared my cats," said Annette Judkins, a lifelong Bed-Stuy resident. "But the rain wasn't that bad, and it really didn't seem to be nearly as bad as what the newscasters were predicting."

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"I've been through worse," said Octavia Moore, about Monday night's storm.

However, Sandy's aftermath Tuesday morning told an entirely different story. It revealed there was a sneakier side to Sandy and that her bark apparently was nowhere near as big as her bite!

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Across Bed-Stuy, Sandy's presence was clearly evident: Siding was ripped from buildings; park benches were overtuned; and trees were either uprooted or snapped in half.

Bed-Stuy resident, Kaysha Charles, 22, was walking with a friend into her home on MacDonough Street between Tompkins and Throop avenues Monday night when severe winds from Hurricane Sandy uprooted a 100-year-old tree. In a matter of seconds, the tree came crashing down on her friend's car-- the car he had just parked.

The top of the tree fell, straddling the entire street while the tree's tip brushed the outside of Charles's doorsteps only moments after the two had closed and locked the door.

"We had just finished parking and as soon as the door clicked, woosh!" said Charles's friend, Fabrice Appolon, 21, who owned the car and was visiting from upstate New York.

Appolon appeared calm Tuesday morning as he got a daytime look at his car sandwiched firmly between the tree trunk and the street. He said he had already contacted his insurance company, and they assured him the City of New York would pay for the damage.

"I just hope I get a new car," he said.

*See VIDEO of uprooted tree on MacDonough and Throop


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