BRIGHTON PARK — A long-dead tree in Brighton Park fell and crushed a man’s car last month — just as the car's owner, Jose Sanchez, feared it would when he first reported it to the city nearly a year ago.
Sanchez, 33, put in a request on Aug. 19, 2014, according to documents, but the service request remained open until the day it crushed his car.
Sanchez lives in the 4500 block of South Fairfield. On June 6, he came outside and saw that the rotting tree had fallen. He said it smashed his car — requiring a new paint job, back lights and bumper.
Estimated damages are more than $1,800, he said.
“To some, that may not be a lot of money, but to me, living paycheck to paycheck, it’s a lot," Sanchez said.
Sanchez works two jobs — construction projects when he can get them, and he repairs car engines. He said he doesn’t understand why the city never removed the tree.
“They should have cut it down, it had no more roots, it was rotten,” Sanchez said.
James Lopez, another resident of the 15th Ward, lives in the 4500 block of South Laflin and said his block has needed trimming for months.
“The trees are so thick you can’t even see the light,” he said about the tree limbs blocking the street lights.
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) said that there is a backlog of trees that require either trimming or removal and the Department of Streets and Sanitation needs to reprioritize its efforts in addressing those service requests.
“This is an emergency situation. Dead trees won't keep standing while waiting their turn," Lopez said Monday. "In the past few days my office has proactively [found] nearly 80 trees on just 10 blocks that are in need of major trimming as well as a dozen dead or nearly dead trees."
Molly Poppe, a spokeswoman for Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation, said the agency is "working to address these issues and respond to all residents as quickly as possible."
“Currently, there is only one open tree trim request (entered on 7/8/15) and one tree removal request open on the 4500 Block of S. Fairfield,” Poppe said in an email. “Since 2011, Forestry crews have completed three tree-trimming requests and completed five tree removal requests on the 4500 Block of S. Fairfield.”
She said the 15th Ward has 102 overdue tree removal requests, which represents 1.2 percent of all overdue tree removal requests throughout the city.
Poppe also said that forestry crews have completed 201 residential requests for tree removals this year in the 15th Ward. That’s 123 percent more completed tree removal requests compared with 2014.
Crews also have completed 54 percent more tree-trimming requests this year in the 15th Ward, compared with the same time period in 2014. That’s 197 tree trimming requests, she said.
The service requests are prioritized by the level of safety, Poppe said. For all requests, the city sends out an inspector to determine the level. If it’s an emergency situation, then the request becomes top priority.
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