'It could have been prevented.' Family of NYCHA worker killed by fallen tree takes legal action against NYC

East New York residents watched in horror after a fallen tree killed 56-year-old Leighton Brown back in September. Brown was a NYCHA worker, picking up an extra shift to help out during a nor'easter. He loved his job so much to the point he gave his life for it. His son, Leighton Brown Jr., inherited his name. Heartbreakingly, he now shares the responsibility of keeping his memory alive for his father's wife, five children, and two grandchildren. It's still taking a lot for me to cope. It took a while for me, even for his wife and other people in our family. It's taken a lot on us. He says their grief is worsened by the fact that they feel his father's death could have been prevented. They filed a $75 million notice of claim against the city and the parks department. It alleges that the city had notice of the tree's dangers and failed to take action, calling it negligence, carelessness, and recklessness. This is not the only tree in the area that had fallen that day. There was a tree that fell almost seven hours earlier in this same cluster. So it was a known hazard. They failed to remediate it timely. And unfortunately, Mr. Brown lost his life because of it. You can probably see behind me here, this is where that tree fell. And you can see all those candles here all these months later. Now, with another Nor'easter on the way, residents say it's reigniting their fears. It could have been any one of us that live in here. You get what I'm saying? And it's totally upsetting, stressful. That this man's life was very short and like this. Just to hope and pray that nobody else gets hurt from these storms. The city tells us they are reviewing that claim. Brown's attorney says the lawsuit will be filed in the next three to six months. In East New York, Julia Burns, News 12.