City removes fallen tree on Detroit street after neighbors' incessant calls

Tree crushes van, blocks street for days before city finally cleans up mess

DETROITDetroit city crews began sawing a massive tree into pieces after Local 4 reached out Friday.

The tree crushed Patricia Felder's Dodge Caravan and blocked traffic on the street for days.

"I really felt bad because I couldn't get nobody," Felder said.

When she tried to call City Hall, she says, she was stuck in voicemail oblivion for days. She could not reach a live person.

"I was calling, and calling, and calling, and they were telling me to press 3," she said.

She wasn't the only person making the calls. Her neighbor, Denise Cohens, says she called the Department of Solid Waste which had helped her before, but not this time.

"She said, 'Well, I don't know what department you will call in order to get the tree removed.' I said, 'But you are the city. You should know every department that the city handles,'" Cohens said.

Both neighbors are frustrated with the city and the mayor.

"Because I don't think (the mayor) would want this in front of his (house)," Felder said.

"What is our city doing? We're bad enough, bad off. But when something like this happens, you know, this should have been moved immediately," Cohens said.

The crews arrived about 4 p.m. Thursday. The cleanup took less than an hour. Felder's vehicle is destroyed.

"My van is just, oh boy, well it's not a van no more," she said.


About the Author

Paula Tutman is an Emmy award-winning journalist who came to Local 4 in 1992. She's married and the stepmother of three beautiful and brilliant daughters. Her personal philosophy in life, love and community is, "Do as much as you can possibly do, not as little as you can possibly get away with".

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