A little over a week after high winds felled a tree, sparking a fire that destroyed the Deeper Life Fellowship church in Richmond Hill, the borough was battered once again by blustery gusts.
On Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9, the National Weather Service reported gusts of up to 55 miles per hour.
Branches fell, like on 114th Street in Richmond Hill, and the city’s 3-1-1 system logged 1,186 calls citywide regarding trees or large branches. In Queens, the number of complaints was 381 from Saturday, May 8 through midday Monday, May 10 – 32 percent of the city’s number, which hit the one million mark on Monday.
Nearly 600 customers of 739,000 in Queens were left without power borough wide, but Chris Olert, Con Edison spokesperson, said that all were restored by Monday.
“Queens got hit less than everyone else,” he said.
And at area airports, some planes had to circle for a while before conditions allow them to land.
One Ozone Park man, on his way home from California, told The Courier that his flight stayed in the air an extra hour.
“We always carry extra fuel for contingencies like that,” said Ned Raynolds, American Airlines spokesperson.
