Pittsburgh homeowners look for answers as fallen tree sits on home for 2 weeks
A tree crashed into a home in Pittsburgh during storms late last month, and the Squirrel Hill homeowners said they have been getting the "runaround" about cleanup.
The tree that fell onto the home was on city property, but homeowners Kathy and James Schwnning say they've waited two weeks with no clear answers.
Some of the tree was chopped up by Nelson Tree Company, leaving behind some debris.
"They said the city will clean it up when they come to remove the tree," Kathy Schwnning said.
KDKA's Meghan Schiller asked: "Why did you message me? Did you feel like that was going to happen?"
"No, I didn't, I felt we were given the runaround," Kathy Schwnning said.
The couple said the city's previously handled issues with the other nearby trees because the city planted them along Beechwood Boulevard. KDKA reached out to the city and asked if it had plans to deal with the tree. But the city said it didn't have a plan.
A spokesperson for the mayor's office initially suggested the Schwnnings call 2-1-1 and see if Team Rubicon could assist them, saying "downed trees on private property remain the responsibility of the property owner to remove."
But then, an update from the mayor's office.
"I received word from leadership in DPW this morning," a spokesperson said. "We have 2 tree removals left on Beechwood. This address is on the contractor's schedule for Friday. They need a crane and a lane closure, and the soonest possible overlap of safe crane weather and crane availability is the end of the week."
As for everyone else in the city dealing with downed trees, Team Rubicon is working with homeowners to offer tree removal for those experiencing financial hardships.
