NYCHA Handyman Known as ‘Mr. Fix-it’ Killed by Falling Tree While Working Overtime

Leighton Brown, a 56-year-old New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) handyman beloved by residents for his helpfulness, died Saturday when a tree fell on him in Brooklyn. Brown, known throughout the Cypress Hills Houses as “Mr. Fix-it,” was working overtime during a severe nor’easter when the incident occurred.

Residents recalled Brown’s willingness to assist, even during his breaks. "Even if he was on lunch, you could approach him and say, ‘Wow, such and such is wrong in my apartment.’ And he was like, ‘OK, I’m on lunch, but give me a few minutes and I’ll run by and see what I can do,’" said Robin Howard, 67, a tenant who knew Brown for over a decade.

Another tenant, Kevin Duran, shared that Brown had recently confided in him about an upcoming promotion and transfer. "He said, ‘Kev, don’t tell anybody yet because I haven’t talked to all my people here,’" Duran recounted. "He said, ‘I just got my transfer approved and I just got my promotion. This is my last week here.’ That’s what he said to me."

Brown was working on Saturday despite the inclement weather. A resident who asked to be identified only as Ms. Henry reported seeing him in his signature knee-high brown rain boots while working outside his regular shift. When she heard a tree had fallen, she rushed to the scene and recognized Brown’s distinctive boots on the man being attended to by emergency workers, confirming his identity through the tragic detail.

"When I see him in the ambulance, and I looked at the boots, I already knew that it was [Brown]," she said. "He was a well-known man because he worked in every-f—ing-body’s apartment that’s on this side of the development. Everybody knew Mr. Brown."

At least three other trees were toppled by the storm within the NYCHA development. Crews worked on Sunday to clear the debris as tenants mourned the loss of their dedicated handyman. Brown had family in Jamaica and a son in Connecticut, who was expected to arrive on Monday.