NYCHA’s “Mr. Fix-It” Dies While Working Overtime in the Storm — Locals Struggle to Say Goodbye
Posted by Team - September 28, 2026
The tragic NYCHA handyman killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn was known as “Mr. Fix-it” and working overtime when he died in his brown rain boots, which tearful residents recognized his body by.
Devoted public-housing maintenance man Leighton Brown, 56, generously helped scores of tenants in the Cypress Hills Houses over more than a decade on the job, residents said.
“He was wonderful. All the tenants of Mr. Brown, he was just like, Mr. Fix-it,” said Robin Howard, 67.
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FDNY working the scene after a tree fell on maintenance man Leighton Brown.James Alcivar
“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.”
The tragic NYCHA handyman killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn was known as “Mr. Fix-it” and working overtime when he died in his brown rain boots, which tearful…
