A frustrated Brooklyn homeowner reached out to CBS News New York for help about a dangerous tree outside her East Flatbush home.

Neighbors want the city to take action before someone gets hurt.

Neighbors say tree drops heavy branches onto street, sidewalk

Viveca Crawford says she's been sounding the alarm for over two years about the city tree, which she says continues to drop heavy branches onto the sidewalk, the street and even power lines.

"I haven't been able to get a response since 2023," Crawford said. 

The longtime homeowner shared a notebook filled with pages of logs and reference numbers from years of unaddressed 311 calls. Her fear intensified in April, when a large limb snapped and fell onto nearby wires, sending sparks flying outside her home.

"Since April, there have been at least three to four heavy branches that have fell on this street," she told Brooklyn reporter Hannah Kliger.

Neighbor Dominic Codio says he's been forced to take cleanup into his own hands.

"We've used the apps, you know, whether it be texting 311 or calling 311. Even sometimes I would try to chase down a police officer in a cruise car to see what they could do. But they said it's out of their hands," Codio said. 

Several large branches remain on the ground. Others hang dangerously above the sidewalk and parked cars, just one strong gust away from another incident.

"They're telling me, 'Oh, you have to wait'"

Crawford says her 311 complaints have not only gone unanswered, but at one point, a worker told her the tree wouldn't be pruned until at least 2028.

"This really shocked me because I'm letting them know that it's a dangerous situation and they're telling me, 'Oh, you have to wait,'" she said. 

According to the Parks Department, the tree was inspected in April and a hazardous limb was removed. A pruning work order is now in the system, but still pending months later. The agency said it prioritizes pruning requests based on three criteria: tree defects, the likelihood of impact, and the potential consequences.

Codio says it shouldn't take this long when the risk is right in front of them.

"When it poses an immediate risk and it's a hazard to our neighbors, you know, in the community, I would hope that the city has enough service to take care of it immediately or at least contract out someone else that could take care of it for us," he said. 

A recent  revealed that the Parks Department has failed to meet its annual pruning target of 65,000 street trees in recent fiscal years. Lawmakers say more funding is needed to close the gap.

Meanwhile, branches from the East Flatbush tree have grown so thick they now cover nearby utility wires and block the light sensors on a streetlamp.

"The branches are overshadowing. So the light does not know that it is daytime, so it stays on all the time," Crawford said. 

With no clear timeline for action, neighbors are left waiting, and hoping the next branch doesn't bring serious harm.

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• East Flatbush