You may have noticed the trees glowing for winter along East 125th Street. How did they happen?
Most New Yorkers assume that the holiday and winter lighting that graces many commercial corridors across the city is paid for and programmed by the City. In fact, the City has nothing to do with it: All decorative lighting citywide is brought to you by Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), chamber of commerce — or, in the case of East 125th Street, the 501c3 nonprofit Uptown Grand Central.
The winter lights went up on the first day of winter (December 21, or the Winter Solstice), marked by the Marching Cobras marching band and visits to local small businesses and the Northern Manhattan Rehab nursing home.
Shoutout to Councilmember Diana Ayala and the Community Association of the East Harlem Triangle for supporting the costs for the lights. And to the staff at local small business Urban Garden Center for spending hours upon hours up in the bucket truck to get everything lit!
You’ll have until the end of February to enjoy them. As contrasted to the skyline swags used in other parts of the city, the goal with the trees is to bring more light to street level, adding a safety element as well during very dark winter nights.