Believe it or not, it's been five years! For those new to the neighborhood, yes, five years ago today a tornado tore through Forest Hills and surrounding neighborhoods uprooting tons of trees, destroying cars and buildings. Amazingly, no pedestrians in our neighborhood were seriously hurt, though a driver on the Grand Central Parkway was killed by a falling tree. And also amazingly, the destruction here in Forest Hills received virtually no news coverage at all by the major media outlets.
The tornado went right over my building, and I'll never quite forget the experience. In the days that followed, the National Weather Service investigated and concluded it wasn't a tornado but something called a "macroburst," a line of strong winds ahead of a storm. Well, all I can say is when I looked outside my window and saw the entire world swirling in a circle before I ran for cover, it sure looked like a freakin' tornado to me.
The tornado went right over my building, and I'll never quite forget the experience. In the days that followed, the National Weather Service investigated and concluded it wasn't a tornado but something called a "macroburst," a line of strong winds ahead of a storm. Well, all I can say is when I looked outside my window and saw the entire world swirling in a circle before I ran for cover, it sure looked like a freakin' tornado to me.
I'll never forget my commute home that night. It's usually thirty to forty-five minutes to get from Long Island City to Forest Hills in the evening. It took over three hours. Every block had a tree down, so it became a maze trying to navigate the neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteNever forget walking into the rubble that was McDonald Park.
ReplyDeleteI had been on the subway with no clue as to what had occurred. Fortunately, my block was entirely spared, but walking along 110th Street to the subway the next day was an adventure.
It doesn't feel like it was 5 years ago. The gardens were a disaster zone.
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