The Brooklyn Ink

by Joi-Marie McKenzie and Joe Proudman

A fallen tree lies on the corner of Washington and Lafayette Avenues (Joi-Marie McKenzie/The Brooklyn Ink)

Twenty-four hours after a tornado swept through Brooklyn, longtime Clinton Hill resident James Randall is picking up the pieces.

The tree that once stood in front of his house and shaded the street now fills his front yard. Its branches cracked his window, broke off a piece of his roof, and knocked over his iron fence.

Clinton Hill resident James Randall tries to clear a pathway in his front yard after a tree was destroyed by a tornado. (Joi-Marie McKenzie/The Brooklyn Ink)

“I was in the basement when the storm came through,” James said. “It sounded like a freight train.”

Still, he feels lucky that the same tree that fell on his neighbor’s car, didn’t come through his front window. “It stopped by some miracle,” James said.

(Joe Proudman/The Brooklyn Ink)

James doesn’t know when the city will help with the clean up. He doesn’t have the tools or the manpower to do it alone.

A dog walks by with one of the tree branches in his mouth, while another neighbor takes a piece of the trunk for her garden.