Every December, Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, largely Italian-American enclave, is affected by a large number of tourists. They are coming by train, cars and tour buses to check out the neighborhood's famously extravagant displays of Christmas lights.
It’s a vivid tribute to the season, in which yards are filled with a miles of bulbs, every decoration and nativity scene imaginable, garlands, “Nutcracker”-style soldiers.
The largest concentration of eye-popping displays can be found from 83rd to 86th Streets, between 11th and 13th Avenues, having roughly 250 homes participate.
"Every year, they put up these lights. Some pay loads of money to have it professionally set up. Some spends hours per day for days on end doing it themselves. They pay for crazy electric bills. They bear the crowds and congested snail paced traffic the lights bring. They volunteer themselves to stand in costumes in the cold and sing music to get money for charity. All for the love of spreading joy and the holiday spirits to others. They are an amazing community.", says administrator of FB page Dyker Heights Christmas Lights.
For those that don't know, the neighborhood tradition first began in 1986 when Lucy Spata started decorating her house. After she started her display, people followed - and it has now become the big tourist attraction we see today.
Dyker Heights is not just another part of hipster Brooklyn. In such areas, cocktail lounges and artisanal boutiques are usually the signal that gentrification lurks just around the corner. Residents claiming that that kind of thing isn’t happening over there. At least not yet.
Dyker Heights welcomes 100,000 visitors each December who come to bask in the glow of these amazing Christmas decorations.
Getting to the Dyker Lights:
- Dyker Heights, Brooklyn: 11th Avenue to 13th Avenue and from 83rd to 86th Street;
- Nearest Subways: D/M trains to 18th Ave.
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