The Brooklyn NYCHA worker killed by a falling tree during the weekend’s nor’easter had an eerily prescient final conversation about the unpredictability of life with one of his neighbors before heading out to work that day.
Leighton Brown, a much-loved maintenance worker at the Cypress Hills Houses, was fatally struck by the tree about 3:20 p.m. Saturday on the job near Euclid and Dumont Aves. in East New York.
His neighbor in Canarsie recalled his final conversation with Brown hours earlier.
“You know what he said to me? He said to me, ‘You see someone today, you might not see them tomorrow,’” said Brown’s neighbor, who declined to give his name. “That’s what hit me now. He said that to me when he was leaving.”
Brown was dutifully working an unplanned overtime shift during the storm, neighbors said.
“He was looking forward to going to work,” the neighbor said. “They called him and said, ‘Hey, you should come in.”
The neighbor, who described himself as “spiritual,” believes Brown’s tragic death was fate.
“That means your time has come. It’s time to go,” he said. “These trees (in New York City), the roots are shallow. They tip over easy.”
Footage from Citizen showed several firefighters working to free Brown from under the massive tree.
NYCHA worker Leighton Brown was killed by a falling tree during Saturday’s nor’easter. (Facebook)
The neighbor described Brown as quiet and kind, someone who always provided the music whenever the neighbor had a party.
“He was a nice guy. Very helpful,” said another neighbor, Nola Edwards. “He smiles and he says hello. He talks to quite a few people.”
Edwards said Brown was diligent in going to work and didn’t worry about the weather at all.
“Mostly all the time he’s at work,” she said. “He went to work one day when it snowed.”
Residents at the Cypress Houses described Brown as a beloved handyman Saturday.
“He came the other day to fix my light and they told me that he was the one that was under the tree,” said resident David Ortiz, 49, said. “He was very kind. He loved my dog. He was like, ‘I’m going to kidnap your dog one day.’ It’s so sad. Like I got goosebumps.”
Ortiz was sitting with his wife in his kitchen when they heard a “big bang,” thinking at first the tree had landed on a garbage can. But he learned the truth when he ran outside to get a better look.
“He was already gone, you could tell he was gone,” Ortiz said. “That was a big, heavy tree that fell on top of him.”
Julian Roberts-Grmela / New York Daily News
A massive tree toppled by the wind from a nor’easter killed a 56-year-old worker at NYCHA’s Cypress Hills Houses on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Julian Roberts-Grmela / New York Daily News)
Mayor Mamdani mourned Brown’s death in in a statement on social media late Saturday. “Tonight, we are mourning the loss of one of our own after NYCHA employee, Leighton Brown, died,” Mamdani wrote. “My thoughts are with his entire family as they deal with this unimaginable loss. May he rest in peace, and may his service to our city never be forgotten.”
Brown’s friends paid tribute on Facebook Sunday.
“I don’t (know) why it had to happen,” one friend wrote. “I am going to miss you bro. I am truly hurting right now. I lost a friend and brother. Hard worker always doing the right thing for people. But God is in control. #LeightonBrown you will never be forgotten. Rest In Heavenly Peace I am praying for his family.”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams urged New Yorkers to keep an eye out for unsafe trees Sunday.
“We mourn deeply for the loss of Leighton Brown, a NYCHA employee who faithfully served Brooklyn residents and who was known for his warm personality,” Williams said on Facebook. “New Yorkers, let’s keep each other safe. If you spot a tree that may be dangerous, report it to NYC 311.”
Courtesy of David Ortiz
A massive tree toppled by the wind from a nor’easter killed a 56-year-old worker at NYCHA’s Cypress Hills Houses on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Courtesy of David Ortiz)
By Sunday morning, the city Parks Department had received 1,273 service requests for damaged or fallen trees, 511 of which are for downed trees, though many of those reports may be duplicates, a Parks spokesman said.
In June, an 85-year old retired statistician who loved taking long walks in nature was killed in a freak accident when a sudden summer storm toppled a tree that crushed him in a Queens park.
Zenon Reynarowych died on a footpath in Forest Park on June 6 around 8:30 p.m., when the fast-moving thunderstorm brought powerful winds that downed hundreds of trees across the city.
Carolyn Brandlein, a neighbor who knew Reynarowych, was left in disbelief.
“What are the odds? It’s unbelievable,” Brandlein said at the time. “It was like winning the lottery that no one wants to win.”