Sort of a bear / pope / tree in the woods question, this, but If my tree falls on neighbor’s car who is responsible ?

It’s not actually my tree pictured here. Or my car. This happened in a wind storm not far from where we live and it absolutely OBLITERATED the windows, hood, roof of this SUV and decimated the other car hiding behind the branch.

Here’s the thing about urban efficiency. People complain about the quickness of construction, that sort of thing. But I watched these guys work and they had the tree whipped at a stupid fast pace. It was not only removed and chopped and sawed, but chipped and hauled off in what — to me — seemed like record time.

And I know a thing or two about parking in the city. I don’t own a car, haven’t for a decade now (why when renting for our short term usage is literally cheaper here?). When folks park on alt side parking, they’re seldom doing it short term. They’re often cruising around for a spot near their home and hoping they don’t have to move it until the weekend or their next holiday or — at very least — three to four days out. Though they would love to park on their own block, the odds are they’re parking on average anywhere from 3-10 blocks away and walking home. Especially if it’s at night or the weekend and there’s no out-of-town surge that leaves spots open.

This means that without gaming the system and double parking (which folks do on this particular block), they’re likely not going to witness it. In this picture, the driver has blocked an alley. So it may be owned by the owner of the home, who knows?

If not though?

That means it’s 3-7 days before the owner finds his or her car. And the trees gone and there’s glass on the ground and the hood and roof and door is damaged and (likely) there’s little to nothing stolen.

If I’m in that situation, I’m assuming there was a supervillain battle and someone landed on my car only to carry the fight north toward Manhattan. The last thing I’m thinking to ask is If my tree falls on neighbor’s car who is responsible?

Or, as the case may be, if my neighbor’s tree…