A large tree branch fell and blocked W47th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen last night. Originally, witnesses believed a couch had been thrown from a 5-story building nearby, but photos confirmed that the sofa was strapped to the car’s roof.
Around 9:30pm, residents reported hearing a loud crash, and emerged to find a green couch and tree branch on top of a white Infiniti QX50 with Massachusetts license plates. It’s unknown what dislodged the tree branch, which came crashing onto the street.
Wesley Salim, who was heading home along 10th Avenue, told us: “We just heard a really strong noise while we were crossing W47th Street and 10th Avenue. We called the cops.”
Video footage shows the couch on the car in front of a building on the south side of W47th Street, near Hell’s Kitchen Park.
Police said there were no injuries reported from the incident. Photos show extensive damage to the roof and hood of the Infiniti from the falling tree branch.
Good samaritans from the neighborhood worked alongside police officers and drivers to move the heavy tree branch off the roadway. Traffic was blocked until the street could be cleared. According to the NYC Parks map, the tree is a Thornless Honeylocust that the NYC Parks department pruned most recently in March 2022.
wow, that’s a huge branch. looks like a healthy tree.
“Originally, witnesses believed a couch had been thrown from a 5-story building…” this gave me a chuckle and another reason why you can’t believe anything people say anymore 😅
Great report. I live directly across the street. The same thing happened to a huge branch on our tree. In this case the couch being thrown from the rooftop (by drunken partyers) has now become a mythical urban legend. Thank you for clarifying the nature vs. the neighborhood is going down the tubes legend! Debo
Thx. Stranger things have happened in NYC! https://www.westsiderag.com/2019/01/27/uws-mysteries-how-did-a-couch-end-up-in-a-tree#:~:text=Somehow%20a%20couch%20has%20become,us%20know%20in%20the%20comments!
Weird, another huge tree branch fell on that same block a couple of months ago, right by Hell’s Kitchen Park. Looked like a healthy tree that time as well.
I’m sure all the heavy rains and storms we’ve had lately are contributing to these branches coming down. Should see when Parks is scheduled to do their next round of inspections/trimmings to prevent further damage