Akm Shehabuddin Kisslu: The unofficial kick-off to the holiday season with the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City took place Wednesday night. This year’s Norway Spruce is about 90 years old, weighs 14 tons82-foot-tall and traveled about 200 miles to get here from Queensbury, New York. The Norway spruce arrived in Midtown Manhattan November 12th.
Its star has 3 million Swarovski crystals and the tree features more 50,000 LED lights.
On Christmas,the tree will be lit for 24 hours. The tree lights will now be on every day between 6 a.m. and midnight.
The city will, for the first time in half a century, turn Fifth Avenue from 48th Street to 57th Street into an Open Street for pedestrians on three Sundays in December.
The blocks-long restrictions will be in place from noon to 6 p.m. on those three Sundays.
Mayor Eric Adams says the move is just what the city needs as it rebounds from the pandemic.
“This is the kind of bold, creative thinking that we need to ensure the city’s comeback is strong, equitable, and inclusive,” Adams said. “And to all those coming in from out of town, I have only two messages: Happy holidays and spend money.”
When traffic is allowed to move, there will be fewer lanes for cars. The idea is to give tourists and local residents room to enjoy the sights.
But not every New Yorker is excited about the plan.
There will be a new set of holiday closures.
Starting with Wednesday night’s tree lighting, the usual holiday season restrictions returned.
As in previous years, West 49th Street and West 50th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues will be pedestrian-only zones between 11 a.m. and midnight.
One lane of Fifth and Sixth avenues will also be closed, as needed, to increase sidewalk space for pedestrians
