BUFFALO, N.Y. — Nearly a week since an EF1 tornado rolled through downtown Buffalo, residents in the areas hardest hit are still working to clean up their neighborhoods.
On Monday, they’ll receive an extra boost from the city.
The City of Buffalo announced last week that it is offering a curbside pickup service for remaining debris in the areas hardest hit along streets such as Niagara and Prospect.
The city asked residents on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to collect branches and other debris that still remains in their yards and place it in a pile on the curb for the city to come collect on Monday. The Department of Public Works will be doing the collection.
With a preliminary estimate of $2.5 million in damage from the rare tornado that came through last week, the cleanup efforts have spanned days, but Monday’s pickup is seen as one of the final short-term remedies. Still, some longer-term damage remains to homes and cars.
2 On Your Side drove down Prospect Avenue on Sunday evening to find massive piles of branches set aside by residents. But those were the only sights that remained, just six days after trees littered the streets and roofs were thrown off houses.
“Here we are, not even a week later, having dinner and talking about the Olympics. We're not even talking about what happened here,” Prospect Avenue resident James Carr said. “I can't say that we're over it yet. You look around, and there's still homes without roofs and everything. But basically we're back in operation, and we're doing really well.”
In addition to the roof damage, some of the most extensive remaining damage is to sidewalks. Residents expect the area to look near back to normal after the city comes through on Monday.
Residents that live along Carolina Street, Whitney Place, Prospect Avenue, Georgia Street and Niagara Street are eligible for this service Monday.