More than 3 years after a tornado tore through the East Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts the city is removing damaged trees from private property.
Michelle David watched Tuesday morning as a crew hired by the city cut down the tall oak tree that teetered dangerously close to her house.
"It is a relief. It has been a long time. The street was a mess, but it looks beautiful now. We are grateful to the mayor and everyone in the city who helped get this done."
David and about 90 other homeowners who exhausted their insurance and savings to recover from the June 2011 tornado qualified to have the city remove damaged trees from their yards, under a$100,000 program set up by Mayor Domenic Sarno. FEMA rejected several appeals from the city to pay for the tree removal.
