Wyandanch couple loses home after tree snaps, falls into house

A Wyandanch couple lost their home after Sunday’s gusty winds snapped a large tree in a neighboring yard in half, sending the top of the tree through their roof.

Irving Faulk, 34, who lived at the Parkway Boulevard home with his girlfriend Mary Patron, 37, said he was not injured after the tree crashed through the roof of his bedroom at about 11:30 a.m.

“I was lying in bed when the tree collapsed on the house,” Faulk said. “I was like, ‘Oh, man, we have a permanent sunroof.’ ”

Patron was not home at the time of the incident.

Long Island was lashed by rain and wind gusts of as much as 40 mph Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Upton.

Faulk said fire authorities told him and Patron that support beams in their home were destroyed by the tree and that the house was uninhabitable. He and Patron spent part of Sunday afternoon packing up their possessions to move out.

Red Cross officials helped them get a room in a hotel, Faulk said.

“Looks like we are going to stay in a hotel for a little while,” he said. “Hopefully insurance will take care of this. We will stay with family members for a while until we can get back on our feet.”

Faulk said he is trying to keep things in perspective.

“It’s a tragedy, but it’s a little tragedy,” he said. “It’s not as tragic as people losing their lives.”