Massive tree falls that homeowner complained to city about for years

DETROIT (WJBK) - A massive tree came crashing down during Thursday night's storm in one Detroit neighborhood. One Detroit homeowner tells us he's been bugging the city about the tree since 2002.

Cleanup is now over and the tree is now gone, putting an end to years of frustration for Larry Alderman, who always feared something like this would eventually happen.

He wasn't home when the huge tree came crashing down in front of his house on Majestic Street around 8:30 p.m. Thursday -- and that's a good thing. He usually parks his truck right where it landed.

So his truck was spared and his house of more than 20 years luckily avoided any kind of contact, but that was not the case for his Chevy van.

"The damage is done so here we go," he says.

Alderman says he's been complaining to the city about the rotting tree for years now, dating all the way back to 2002, but says he was told there was nothing wrong with it.

The wind gust that finally brought it down more than a decade later created a dangerous driving situation for drivers who were forced to maneuver around it, and now an eye sore for the entire neighborhood.

"You get tired of calling them it's been years so you just let it go," he says.

Fox 2 made a call to the city about Alderman's concerns and in less than two hours workers were there, cleaning up and hauling away his headache.

Alderman was gone when they began tackling the tree task and returned when they were finished to a street you can now get down with ease and a yard that's back to normal again.

The impact from the tree did end up damaging the hood and top of Alderman's van but he is grateful it did not hurt his home in anyway.

The city says if something like this happens to you you can report it by downloading the Improve Detroit app and submitting it there. That will let crews know there is a problem and enable you to track their progress through email updates.