Maria Hernandez Park administrator Elvis Valdez has a lot of work ahead of him to get the park open after Thursday’s tornado decimated its trees and damaged walkways and park equipment. Click to view more photos>>

A tornado blew through the streets of Bushwick Thursday evening for fewer than 20 minutes — but it could take months of restoration and millions of dollars before two beloved parks are reopened to the public.

A walk down the streets surrounding Maria Hernandez Park and Irving Square Park reveals a scene of devastation: endless rows of felled trees struck by lightning or uprooted by a biblical wind that took the sidewalks with them.

The National Weather Service has finally determined that two tornadoes and one "microburst" touched down — a fact communicated by the greenish skies, clearly visible funnels, and ear-popping due to low pressure in the middle of tornadoes.

City workers from the Parks Dept. and Sanitation continue to remove debris from the streets and public spaces.

At Maria Hernandez, police cordoned off Starr Street and Suydam Street, as several damaged cars remained parked, or rather, trapped, under the branches of downed trees, and moved the Saturday farmer’s market from Knickerbocker Avenue to Irving Avenue.

Broken trees now line the park on the Knickerbocker Avenue side. Click to view more photos>>

Inside the park, the sight was much worse.

Nearly every large tree on the Knickerbocker side of the park had toppled. Several trees, perhaps more than 50 years old, collapsed on the playground, which was only built in 2007, crushing swing sets, slides, and jungle gyms.

At Irving Square Park, between Weirfield and Halsey Street and Wilson and Knickerbocker Avenues, trees on one half of the park damaged the playground, also installed in 2007.

Parks Commisioner Adrian Benepe surveyed the damage on Thursday and parks officials in Brooklyn stated that Maria Hernandez and Irving Square would not be ignored in favor of wealthier Park Slope, which also saw damage.

"Hundreds of calls have already come in regarding downed trees on city streets.  That number is certain to grow and does not include possibly hundreds of trees down or badly damaged inside of parks," said Benepe.  "There is a swath of destruction that stretches uninterrupted from Park Slope through Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick in Brooklyn, into Ridgewood, Queens and all the way through Queens to Bayside."

37th District Councilman Erik Dilan, who visited both parks and secured funding for the play equipment at Irving Square, believed that both playgrounds will likely need to be replaced if the damage has rendered them unsafe. His office is putting out a mailer to constituents with information about calling 311 to report downed trees and power lines to the Office of Emergency Management and what people should do to file claims.

"I’ve never seen anything like that," said Dilan, who expects there will be some Federal relief.

Dilan believes that it will be difficult for individuals to collect from auto insurance for damaged cars, but hopes that the city will work to reopen and restore both parks soon.

"As long as I’m around and in government, Irving Square Park and any other park I can fix will be in the best possible condition," said Dilan, who speculates playground equipment alone could cost $5 million.

Many homes sustained minor damage, including to roof and window flashing. Roofing materials are still strewn about in gutters even as residents continue the cleanup. A vacant building at 193 Wilson Avenue partially collapsed during the storm, with no serious injuries reported anywhere in Bushwick. The roof of a building at 93 Central Avenue caved in, prompting a vacate order from the fire department.

One death was reported in Queens, when a woman’s car was hit by a tree on the Grand Central Parkway.