Runners and cyclists in Prospect Park were forced to take an unexpected detour on Thursday after a more than 30-foot-tall tree fell clear across the greenspace’s East Drive.
The tree, a sycamore maple, plummeted across the park’s main running thoroughfare at around 2 pm, according to officials with the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
The city botanists suspect the tree, which toppled amid Thursday’s mild winds, was felled as a result of the heavy winds and rain that descended on Brooklyn earlier this week.
First responders were seen cordoning off the fallen maple with caution tape a few minutes after it came to rest over the roadway, but local athletes were able to continue their jogs after taking a brief detour through the woods located on either side of the street.
A spokeswoman for the Parks Department said the tree would be chopped up and carted off by the end of the day.
