The first snowstorm of the season has ripped down more than 100 trees across Manhattan, injuring a cop and EMTs, crushing cars and blocking streets during an already difficult commute Thursday.
Snow started falling heavily Thursday afternoon, and by the evening, nearly 150 trees were reported down across New York City, the city parks department said. Forty hanging limbs and more than 300 downed limbs were reported.
On East 35th Street and 2nd Avenue, an NYPD detective from the emergency services unit was working to remove a tree when another large tree branch fell on his head. He was taken to NYU Hospital with minor injuries.
Trees were reported down all across the rest of Manhattan, from the Upper East Side to midtown to the West Village. One even fall on top of an ambulance, injuring two EMTs on the Lower East Side, officials said.
[PHOTOS] Storm Downs Trees Across NYC, Tri-State
The forestry team in the city parks department will be out early Friday morning to inspect and address reported tree fallings, a spokeswoman says. A disproportionate number of tree service calls are coming from Manhattan, so crews based in Brooklyn and Queens will be dispatched to the borough as early as 6 a.m. Friday.
The NYPD and FDNY are responding to emergency-based fallings and clearing street blockages.
New Yorkers should call 311 to report a fallen tree, or 911 if it's causing an emergency.
Parks aren't closed, but the city reminded people not to enter them during the storm. The inner paths of Union Square were closed Thursday evening as a safety measure, and will remain closed Friday morning.
