Leighton Brown, the NYCHA handyman tragically killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn, was known around the Cypress Hills Houses as “Mr. Fix-it.” He was working overtime in the storm when he died, and grieving residents recognized him by the brown rain boots he wore that day.
Brown, 56, spent more than a decade maintaining the public-housing development and was remembered by tenants as a dedicated worker who routinely went far beyond his official duties to help residents.
“He was wonderful. All the tenants of Mr. Brown, he was just like, Mr. Fix-it,” said Robin Howard, 67.
“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.’”
“Everybody, everybody says he’s the best person that they ever had out there.”
Kevin Duran, one of Brown’s friends and tenants, said the handyman had recently stopped by his apartment to replace a shower head—and shared news he was keeping quiet.
“He said, ‘Kev, don’t tell anybody yet because I haven’t talked to all my people here,’” Duran recalled.
KEEP READING: CommBank Staff Fury Over CEO’s $250K ‘People and Leadership’ Bonus
“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.”
The warmhearted maintenance worker continued his duties Saturday as a powerful nor’easter battered Brooklyn. Fierce winds toppled several trees throughout the development, including the one that struck and fatally injured him.
A resident who identified herself as “Ms. Henry” told The Post that Brown was working beyond his normal shift that morning, wearing his knee-high brown rain boots despite the dangerous conditions.
After hearing that a tree had fallen on someone, Henry hurried downstairs. She said she was horrified to see the familiar boots on the injured man as emergency crews rushed him away.
“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 additional trees came down inside the NYCHA complex. Crews spent Sunday clearing the damage as residents mourned the loss of the man they affectionately called “Mr. Brown.”
Residents said Brown’s family remained in Jamaica, while his son, who lived in Connecticut, was expected to reach Brooklyn on Monday.