Queens Tribune

Micheline Muccini noticed a big branch dangling from the tree next to her home at 209-41 30th Avenue in Bayside and was immediately worried a swoop of wind could knock it down and hit someone walking on the sidewalk.

Like a good citizen, Muccini called 311 to report the problem in September, but the branch still hung. She made several more calls to 311 before she was directed to call the Parks Department’s Queens Forestry Division to file a complaint. That was at the end of November.

After waiting a week to see if the branch would be removed, Muccini wrote to the Action Desk seeking help.

“All they have to do is take it down,” she said, concerned it would fall and damage her fence or worse – hit a kid on his way to school at Bayside High School. “It’s not a big job. It doesn’t involve cutting anything.”

The Action Desk contacted the Parks Department on Monday and was told in a statement that Muccini’s tree was on a waiting list of tasks.

“Our first priority is always to remove trees that block roadways so as to ensure emergency vehicles can pass,” the Parks Department spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail. “Second, any trees that place a home in immediate danger are removed.

“Unfortunately due to many storms and high winds in past months, there are numerous jobs to be done throughout the borough,” the Parks spokeswoman added.

The day Action Desk reached out to the Parks Department, however, Dec. 11, Muccini said the branch was removed.

After months of phone calls, an e-mail from the Action Desk and a responsive Parks Department was all it took to get rid of some pesky dead wood.